Some solutions to limit social networks in our daily lives7 min read
Despite all the statistics claiming that social media consumption is increasing daily, a survey from England has outlined a completely opposite trend - one in three say they have reduced their social media presence at the end of 2019. It's even more curious to note that the largest group saying no to social networking is that of millennials (23-38), given that these are people who grew up in the age of video games and digital entertainment.
Where is the logic behind these figures as technology and mobile devices increasingly enter our daily lives? The answer may be very elementary. Consumers are increasingly conscious of the negative impact of social networking over their mental state and healthy lifestyle. Think about it, as soon as we open our eyes early in the morning we are bombarded by digital content that doesn't pay any dividends. Even if we wanted to filter it out, it's no easy task as the environment is constantly changing.
In this year, declutterthemind mentions the term "detoxification from social networks", which is becoming increasingly popular among Internet users. It is the act of deliberately restricting oneself from using social networks for a certain period of time. This period can sometimes be quite lengthy.
An interesting point from exposureninja's study points out that the most deleted social network app recently is Facebook (30.2%), and in second place, and first among ladies, is Pinterest with 26.9%. This dry data only reminds us that segmentation and effective targeting will be among the most important digital marketing trends for 2020. Marketers face the difficult task of analysing in detail the behaviour of their target audience - which online spaces they visit, what topics are discussed and how the brand can make their lives easier.
The main motives for disconnecting from social networks are different for ladies and gentlemen.
In first place (35.2%), the male audience indicated that they had lost trust in social media, mostly due to the presence of fake news and possibly the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018. In the next two places, the reasons are no less interesting - 26.6% say they are overwhelmed, while 26.1% have concerns about protecting their privacy.
With ladies topping the chart with 31.3%, the reason cited was overworking, which emerged as one of the major problems of modern society, while the next two diverged drastically from those of the male audience. 28.8% of ladies said they felt addicted to social networking, while 22.4% were worried about their mental state and healthy lifestyle.
What would the world of technology look like in the future? An interesting reference can be made with the fantasy thriller "Player One, Get Ready", where the action takes place in 2045. The film strip tells the story of the future of humanity, which seeks a constant escape from life through a parallel VR universe called Oasis. Each participant designs an avatar of their liking and embarks on the game's adventures, forgetting the physical laws of the real world. But even in this film, when the protagonist Wade Watts completes the final mission and becomes the new architect of Oasis, he introduces a rule of two days off from virtual reality entirely, realizing the importance of live contact with loved ones.
But it's only 2021 and the question we pose is far more modest than Wade's concerns - how do we limit the negative impact of social media on our lifestyles?
Turn off notifications - Yes, it may sound elementary, but it will make all the difference. How many of you react impulsively to every single notification from social media apps? And how many of you waste precious time to open your phone and see that you've received another annoying invitation to play an online game or like a page? We are all aware of how stressful such impulse alerts from mobile devices are, they interfere with our concentration, and probably make us addicted to the thought of "not missing something important."
Remove apps - this measure is more radical, requiring not only the suspension of notifications, but also the complete deletion of social networking apps. That way you won't be tempted to click on Facebook or Instagram icons, they just won't be there, and you can focus on more important tasks in your daily life. Of course, this doesn't mean that you'll close the door on social networks entirely, but that you'll be able to manage your time on them more consciously (e.g. using only the browser on your personal computer).
Readjust your habits - one such is to stop opening social networks in the first hour after waking up. Agree that our first thought of the day is sometimes very determinant of our mood in the following hours, and staring at the small screen and the stress of dozens of notifications does not always do us a good service. Small steps are also part of the plan.
Keep track of your activities - You'd probably surprise yourself if you decided to check how many times you turn on social apps in a day, and therefore how much time you spend on them. And when you imagine that this time could have been shared doing much more useful things, then you realise the problem - very often we open social apps out of habit, mechanically, without any specific purpose. One of the apps I recommend for tracking our activity across apps is Quality Time. Do your analysis and take concrete steps.
Meditate - if you sometimes feel overwhelmed by social media, like the people who participated in exposureninja's study, practicing meditation will certainly help you to focus and relax. Getting away from all the noise on the internet, even for 5 minutes a day, is invaluable time you can give to yourself. And to finish, the app I recommend for meditation is Headspace. It offers different programs depending on your profile and level of congestion, and you can adjust it to the dynamics of your daily life. Don't be put off by the mention of yet another app - you can safely replace aimless social media wandering with Headspace meditation.
Now it's your turn! Please share in a comment below this post, how do you manage to limit your stay on social networks?
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