Advice for detaching from social media?

[Gnarwhal]

I can find a million ways to justify having apps like Reddit and Twitter on my phone, but they do nothing but make me deeply angry anymore. I'm beyond over-informed and I want to cut that out of my life completely, I've really noticed the past couple of weeks how much the media just warps me into an angry and bitter person. CF is quite literally the only site that is actually good for me. Anyone have any advice to break my addiction to these? I have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Reddit on my phone, though Facebook and Instagram are almost pointless to me anymore. I think the only reason I keep them is I *think* I'll post pictures for my family on the other side of the country to see, but I never do cause I don't want big brother figuring me out any more than he already has. I've blocked so many things on FB at this point that almost nothing comes up in my feed anyway and it's mostly ads. Why bother at that point?

So any helpful advice? My priest gave me some wisdom in confession today saying that sometimes to rein in one appetite we have to start by reining in another. I have a highly addictive personality and can safely say I'm addicted to food and social media. It used to be video games too but I think I just sort of grew out of that one. I'd like to grow out of the others too but sadly those just seem to be getting worse.

I'd really like to shake my tether to the web, especially because I seem to reach for my phone in every awkward moment outside my house and it never used to be that way. When I stepped out my front door I was unplugged, if I was on the sidewalk I'd see the world around me, if I was with friends I was with friends.

I could delete the apps from my phone, but I'd just download them again after a couple days. I can't ditch the smartphone yet because I rely on it to pay a lot of bills and rely on Waze to get me around the unfamiliar places I've lived the past two years.

It's a distant goal but if I get to move back to my hometown I'm going to downgrade to a flip phone since I won't need my iPhone for any of those reasons anymore.

Any suggestions on how I can fight this in the meantime would be appreciated!

 

[Michie]

I do not add apps to my phone unless necessary. I think we should be informed. For prayers, action, and discussions with likeminded people but when it becomes an issue, it time to delete as far as Reddit, etc. Such places are usually cesspools anyway. That’s why I never participated in those options. CF is enough for me and I often get frustrated here as well. But the other places you mentioned, no thanks! You have your son coming! Unplug from anything you find toxic. Be informed but do not let it poison your life.

 

[Bob Crowley]

When you can leave your phone behind and don't take it with you. I spend too much time on the computer, but I don't think I'm a social media junkie. I've got the luxury of being retired so I don't have the pressure of having to use a computer or phone for work. I also grew up in an age that was internet free, and it's only the last 10 years or so that we've seen the sort of IT addicton that is so common today.

These days I very rarely catch a train (or any public transport - partly because of where we live). But a few months ago I caught a train at a station on the northside of Brisbane. While I was waiting at the station, I was looking around. My phone was safely in my haversack, along with a couple of books.

There were about twenty other people on the platform waiting for the same train, and every single one of them was either looking at their phone or a notebook of some sort. No doubt some of them were doing "work", but we're a society addicted to computers.

On a couple of occasions, I've been in a cafe with my wife. A young couple sitting nearby weren't even talking to each other, but were focussed on their phones.

Go for a walk. Go for a drive. Play a sport. Do something that doesn't involve the internet. Or maybe just set aside a period of time each day when you commit to leaving the social media alone, perhaps starting with a short period eg. half an hour.

But any addiction is hard to beat.

 

[Think...]

I can find a million ways to justify having apps like Reddit and Twitter on my phone, but they do nothing but make me deeply angry anymore. I'm beyond over-informed and I want to cut that out of my life completely, I've really noticed the past couple of weeks how much the media just warps me into an angry and bitter person. CF is quite literally the only site that is actually good for me. Anyone have any advice to break my addiction to these? I have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Reddit on my phone, though Facebook and Instagram are almost pointless to me anymore. I think the only reason I keep them is I *think* I'll post pictures for my family on the other side of the country to see, but I never do cause I don't want big brother figuring me out any more than he already has. I've blocked so many things on FB at this point that almost nothing comes up in my feed anyway and it's mostly ads. Why bother at that point?

So any helpful advice? My priest gave me some wisdom in confession today saying that sometimes to rein in one appetite we have to start by reining in another. I have a highly addictive personality and can safely say I'm addicted to food and social media. It used to be video games too but I think I just sort of grew out of that one. I'd like to grow out of the others too but sadly those just seem to be getting worse.

I'd really like to shake my tether to the web, especially because I seem to reach for my phone in every awkward moment outside my house and it never used to be that way. When I stepped out my front door I was unplugged, if I was on the sidewalk I'd see the world around me, if I was with friends I was with friends.

I could delete the apps from my phone, but I'd just download them again after a couple days. I can't ditch the smartphone yet because I rely on it to pay a lot of bills and rely on Waze to get me around the unfamiliar places I've lived the past two years.

It's a distant goal but if I get to move back to my hometown I'm going to downgrade to a flip phone since I won't need my iPhone for any of those reasons anymore.

Any suggestions on how I can fight this in the meantime would be appreciated!

Yeah, as others have said, just do it.

Detach.

Try and fill your newfound time and freedom with as many types of outdoor activities as possible. Not just because I personally love the out of doors, but because I am convinced it is very therapeutic, and nourishing, for the mind, body AND spirit.

Work on the yard, house, car or go for a walk, jog, bike. Just get outside!

I believe that is one of the most important things that tech, and the internet/cell phones, have stolen from mankind.

Try it for a month and I can personally guarantee you will notice improvements in mind, body, mood, sleep, energy etc., etc.

Enjoy and God bless.

 

[mourningdove~]

Any suggestions on how I can fight this in the meantime would be appreciated!

Additionally ...
If it were me ...

I would seek to change this behavior "One Day at a Time".

It can be difficult to take on a difficult goal, make a decision 'forever', and stick with it. Especially if there is any kind of addiction going on.
But breaking it down into 'bite-size pieces' ("One Day at a Time") often does make it easier!


Each day, in the morning, I would pray and ...
1. Admit to God that I am addicted (to whatever).
2. Admit to God that I need His help in abstaining that day from the addictive behavior.
3. Pray and ask Him for His help ... the grace ... to do it.

If I succeed in abstaining that day? I'd thank God for His graces, at bedtime.

And if I should fall and fail that day? I'd ask God for the grace to begin again, tomorrow ...

 

[godisagardener]

We've become a technology-addicted society, unfortunately. And while we can become addicted very quickly, breaking away can be difficult if we let it be. I was a Pinterest addict for years. Then one day I finally took a clear look at it and asked myself why I was saving pictures, recipes, diy, etc. when I'd never look at them again. It was a total waste of my time. So I deleted everything and then deleted my account. I've never missed it.

So I'd suggest a clean break. Delete and don't look back. Maybe make a list of what you could be doing besides those social platforms, and if you get the itch to sign up again, look at the list.

Similar to an earlier poster, I sat in a clinic waiting room a week or so ago waiting on a family member. An older couple (older than my 64 years) sat across from me. Both had their eyes glued to their cell phones and kept commenting to each other on what they were looking at. It made me sad thinking that surely a husband and wife could be having a normal conversation about normal things rather than cell phones becoming props.

I wish you well.