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I have a social media addiction and it's been getting harder to stop myself from using them. There are times where I can just ignore turning my phone on for like an hour or so, but I always grab it anyways and I always end up on some sort of social media anyways. It's gotten to a point where before I even have time to stretch and get out of my bed I'm drawn to my phone first, the first thing I do during the day is stare at a screen and it's really messing up my daily cycle and I can literally feel symptoms as If i'm getting sick.
During the day if I start scrolling first thing, or just even opening my phone at all, I get a headache right off the bat and can feel myself get nauseous as times goes on. There are times where I physically cannot stop myself from doom scrolling or to turn my phone off. It's like an impulse and an automatic reflex mixed with a weird sense of fomo.
And it doesn't help that for me(and I'm sure a good chunk of us) the automatic social media that's even looked at it tiktok. Over any other social media I think TikTok has to be one of the worst and most addicting platforms. It's such a weird app too at the same time, the actual algorithm sucks and the vibes one most of the videos is rancid. Like, I could go and watch a movie I really liked or a book I've just finished reading, and if I dare to look it up on there to scourge up some fanart or content for that media, half of the videos are taking a shit all over everything and the other half is ai content(so same thing). When I find myself doom scrolling on tiktok I physically have to move the app from my open history and turn my phone off.
Overall I do get the addiction for other socials at times, but I also get bored on other apps. If I'm on Instagram or maybe Tumblr and I'm going through stuff I can get bored and I'm able to pull away from the app when I want to, but with tiktok it's a lot harder. I absolutely get bored on that app, but I also fall down way more rabbit holes and addictions by proxy of one video and it makes it so that I keep just scrolling.
I have tried multiple times to actually delete the app or my account, but every time I do I start like panicking, as if I might miss something monumental in the next 3 videos or I might lose something important. Though the thing is almost any creator I truly like will more than likely be on any other platforms, but the amount of random videos I have saved feels crazed. Edits, recipes, fanart, and just random videos I liked the aesthetics of.
If I truly want to start kicking this social media addiction it has to start at the roots, and that means that app, and that also for my own peace of mind and just so I don't have the impulse to re-download the app I need to just go through a bunch of my saved videos and just start deleting and sifting through anything I might "find value in", which realistically should be nothing. These are just videos made by strangers on the internet that I should be able to let go without a second thought, but it truly feels as if it's another facet of my life I need to physically de-clutter.
Has anyone else felt this way? I feel so weird and co-dependant on a horrible app that adds little to no value to my life that I could get anywhere else. I really need to cleanse. Wish me luck.
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Flan
I've never gotten physically ill just from using social media/tech, but I think a lot of this really just starts with you. Rather than panicking too much, maybe just sit down one of these days and either think about or write out how you feel, especially about all the content you're consuming. Does it feel beneficial? Does it feel like a waste of time? Does it make you feel better? Once you take a step back and look at the bigger picture, especially once you notice how many ads and slop content you're bombarded with, it makes it a lot easier to distance from it.
If there's content you truly enjoy, I'd really recommend making an RSS feed. This'll help with the fear of missing out on content you actually like while also helping limit how much scrolling and slop content/ads being thrown at you.
If I may, it may be good to just keep social media apps on your computer if you have one. Most of them can be accessed through a site and needing to go through the process of sitting down, turning on a computer, then having to go to a site, might help slow you down and also lessen the desire to actually get on socials due to the hassle.
With your phone in general, try putting it across the room at night. When you wake up, in order to use it you'll be forced out of bed.
To add, I also saw that you're interested in movies/tv and reading comics/manga. I think expanding on these interests may help with technically using a screen but getting more out of them!
Rather than using Letterboxd for quick ratings, when I'm really interested I try to use it more like a journal than just a tracker. I try to combine as many of my thoughts and theories into a log, so at least it's spent writing and working my brain. (I do also have a physical log too though). For TV shows, serializd is really good for the same purpose!
I think the same can be done for your reading too, just spilling all your thoughts and reactions out. It's still a screen if you decide to use a site/app, but it's a tad more productive than just mindless consumption. Hell, you could even start making blogs on here or elsewhere about what you've read/watched. It could prompt really meaningful discussion + possibly find more friends with similar interests.
by Flan; ; Report
omg thank you so much! ^^ I have tried physical journaling but I'm usually lost on what I "should" be writing about but this is such a smart way of going about distancing away from social and a screen in general.
I have been trying to get into watching more movies and just savoring them, and like you said blogging about them, I have a couple of books I've read before that I've blogged, but it's been slowed down for a while T T
Putting your phone away so you have to get up in the morning is actually genius, i'll also try this with any other devices as well!!
I really appreciate the feedback and genuine advice on how to give myself more space to savor the media and share it <3
by ro_ro06; ; Report