A new disease or rather a syndrome, recently has emerged and it is called social media burnout. One of the symptoms is bright light illuminating onto the faces of regular people going about their daily routines, whether it is walking to work, standing in line to get their morning coffee or shopping in the supermarket. This unusual illumination is a reaction to the smartphones and the intense information they transmit 24/7.
Social media that fits in the palms of our hands, among some of the most popular hangouts include Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Reddit, LinkedIn, online dating sites etc..
With the prevalence of smartphones and the accessibility of so many sites at the touch of our fingers, it seems impossible to get away from social media. Unfortunately, it is easily noticed that more engagement with our gadgets leads to limited or no interaction face-to-face.
Here is a news for you! Reality is here to stay!
So, the sooner you make steps to distance yourself from social media, the better. Social media burnout is an actual thing. You can enter these three words into Google search and you will find many articles on such a condition facing our generation of children, professionals, and students in 2016.
Burnout is defined as fatigue, frustration, or apathy resulting from prolonged stress, overwork, or intense activity. It is actually alarming how many people may be burned out and not know how to recover. Maybe you are sleeping way too late, your appetite is to the extreme, you are always moody because you don’t agree with the latest comment on your post, or you are physically ill because you are not exercising and living a healthy life. You are not alone.
Therefore, here we want to recommend three practical ways that you can apply to avoid social media burnout.
Separate Social Media from Reality
There should be a purpose or meaningful intent to everything you do… including hopping onto specific networking apps. It is also important to distinguish social media from reality, otherwise your drive to accomplish things will be blurred. Become more aware of your time dwelling online versus getting things done in your daily routines.
If you are a visual person, this technique may help you keep things in check.
Write two lists side by side:
For Social Media, answer questions like the following:
–> Why am I checking ___ right now?
–> What can I gain from using ___ today?
–> When will I check ___ today for updates?
For Reality, consider prompts like the following:
–> My top three goals today include ___, ___, and ___.
–> I will be productive today by ___.
–> At home, I need to take care of ___, ___, and ___.
It may seem silly, but filling out templates can make you actively aware of your surroundings, and thus have more control of what you should and shouldn’t do at a given time.
Turn off that phone!
Consider these questions: How often do you talk on the phone to someone, emergency or non-emergency related? How often do you text someone else?
Granted, texting is probably more likely than talking with someone on a daily basis.
The point here is this: We tend to use our phones nowadays more to access social media than we do for the intended function of a phone, which is to call and talk with someone else. If you realize that you are struggling to get important things done or you feel over stressed/fatigued by the use of social media, cut your access to them… at least for a few hours. If you remember how, turn off your phone. Focus on what you need to get done, get it done, then reward yourself by turning that phone back on and indulge within reason what you missed for a few hours. If you are within reach of a desktop PC either at home or work, do not sign in to your account.
This will help you develop self-control and confidence that yes, you can indeed stray away from the digital world and feel good about that freedom!
Limit access to two
When you feel the urge to check out social media, limit your access to TWO either within a few hours or a day. It could be Twitter and Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat, Instagram and LinkedIn, Google+ and Pinterest, Twitter and LinkedIn.
If you force yourself to do this on a consistent basis, you will hopefully realize that there is power in self-control. Also, there will be something new each day for you to explore as social media apparently never sleeps.
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