Social Media Limits
Social media seems to consume every waking moment. When you don’t have all the accounts and stay updated, it can feel like FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). Younger people hang out in person and end up scrolling through Tik Tok, Twitter, or Instagram. When talking to my family, we often say “Did you see that ___?” The blank could be someone having a baby, getting married, etc. There have been days I’ve looked at my screen time at the end of the day, and the social media use has been 3-4 hours. Limits can be helpful in creating and maintaining boundaries with what we’re putting in our heads. It can feel like a daunting goal, but it is good for our mental health.
Social media has plenty of effects and most of them are negative. The Child Mind Institute found that teens and young adults who spend a lot of time on these platforms have a higher rate of reported depression than those who spend less time (Shoaf, 2020). The University of Pennsylvania carried out a similar study. One group of undergraduates used social media per usual and the other group were allowed to use a platform for only ten minutes/day. Those who had limited their use had a reduced level of loneliness and depression. Due to these findings, the University recommended limiting social media use to 30 minutes/day (Shoaf, 2020).
Still not convinced? The Happiness Research Institute found that people on Facebook had a harder time focusing, felt less present, and felt they were wasting time. When it comes to self-esteem, social media can be especially hurtful. Two studies found that when it comes to selfies, looking at others’ selfies and comparing them to their own hurt self-esteem and caused women to negatively compare themselves. Another study correlated social media to feeling unattractive (The Pros and Cons of Quitting Social Media, n.d.). Finally, when it comes to sleep, the phone’s light and content we are looking at can often affect how much we sleep and how well we sleep.
Setting social media time limits is difficult, but it is a super beneficial goal to set and maintain. There are ways to manually set limits on Android and iPhone through settings. You can set any sort of time limit you’d like. Check and see how much time you usually use a day. If you’re used to using 2.5 hours, try setting it to 1-1.5 hours to start. If you use 1-1.5 hours, try setting a 45 minutes-1 hour goal. Essentially, try halving the amount of time you spend on it. Then, as the weeks go on, slowly decrease the time by 5-10 minute increments. You could also limit the time of day you’re using social media. Try not to use it right before bed or first thing in the morning. Maybe you set it for 10am-7pm. Before you know it, you’ve trained yourself to only use social media for 30 minutes or less a day. You’ll feel more present, get better sleep, and possibly feel the effects of reduced loneliness and depression.
References:
Shoaf, N. (2020). Editorial: Limiting Social Media Benefits Health and Happiness. Ke Alaka’i. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3qPNOnE.
The Pros and Cons of Quitting Social Media. SCL Health. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3hkbQUD.
Challenges/Points:
Limiting social media has several possible benefits, including better sleep, higher self-esteem, room to be present with others, and lower depression and loneliness.
Set a social media limit on your phone today for less than what you’ve been doing.
Decide what time of day you’d like to allow social media use.
Questions:
How much time do you spend on social media every day on average?
Have you ever done a social media fast?
Do you currently have social media limits on your phone?
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