How To Stop Wasting Time on Social Media

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The simple answer is to stop using it... However, the problem is that you are addicted to it.

Quitting something addictive is largely the process of:

  • making it less enjoyable,
  • making it less accessible, and
  • replacing it with something better.

The reasoning is simple: when something is enjoyable you want to keep doing it; when something is accessible you're able to keep doing it; and when something is the most enjoyable and most accessible thing to do, you'll keep doing it.

So here is a step-by-step process that stops the above from happening and progressively moves you towards 0% use.

Unfollow, Delete and Block to Reduce Content

Over time, your social media feed has likely grown in size due to the number of people or pages you follow or subscribe to. Go through your account and unfollow, delete and/or block anything that is not necessary or important. By doing this, you reduce the amount of new content that is published on your feed each day. Novelty is pleasurable for humans. So if you're seeing less new content, or repeat content, you'll find it less enjoyable.

Uninstall the Apps and Only Use Your Web Browser

The addictiveness of social media is facilitated by the design of the apps:

  • the ease of scrolling, swiping and tapping,
  • the fast response times and smooth animations, and
  • the abundance of features and tools to do almost anything you want.

Make social media less enjoyable by deleting the apps and only using your web browser to access the sites.

You can go one step further and configure your web browser to automatically clear log-in information. Doing so will force you to log-in every time you want to use social media.

By only using the web browser, you make the experience more clunky and thus less enjoyable; and by forcing yourself to log-in every time, you make it less convenient to access.

Find Something Better

Now that you've made social media less enjoyable and more inconvenient to access, you need to find other activities to replace it.

Install Better Apps

Initially, you'll be in the habit of reaching for your phone every moment you have a spare minute, or when you need to distract yourself from something that is more difficult in front of you. Eventually you'll be able to stop doing this, but while you're still doing it, it is a good idea to install apps on your phone that are more productive or educational. Such apps may include ones that allow you to:

  • Read an educational book, article or document.
  • Practice memorising certain information (e.g. via flash cards on an app like ForgetMeNot).
  • Contact a person directly and in a more personal manner that is free from the noise of social media (e.g. SMS or a dedicated messaging app like Signal).
  • List and manage your daily tasks (e.g. Tasks).
  • Take notes on things you're thinking about (e.g. Notally).
  • Solve puzzles and problems (however, be careful of getting addicted to problem solving games, they are better than social media, but they still become useless after the 894th level).

Find Better Hobbies

Realistically, the number of activities that you can productively use your phone for is actually pretty small (unless you are some executive or a business owner that uses their phone frequently to call and email people, even then, you should probably be questioning whether that is the best use of all your time as the leader of your organisation or business).

So, to not feel compelled to use your phone, and to give yourself something more enjoyable and accessible to do longer-term, you should start to try some activities that interest you to see if any of them become your passion. If you already have a passion, then you should knuckle down and devote your life to it. You'll get one hell of an adventure out of it, and you'll probably end up helping a lot of people along the way by providing something that is in need and of high quality.

Delete Your Accounts

The ultimate way to stop wasting time on social media is to delete your accounts. This may seem like you are cutting yourself off from the world, but you're not in reality. You can still contact those people that are actually important to you via phone, email or some other dedicated messaging app (e.g. Signal). You can get the latest news from friends and family, or other sources. Your 'friends' will seem like they reduce in number, but this is not a bad thing. Our time on this earth is limited, so one should focus on fostering the quality of a few select connections, rather than the sheer quantity of connections. In doing this, one also gets an opportunity to select connections that hopefully have a net benefit on both people's lives.

Closing Remarks

Change takes time. Quitting in one fell swoop is usually extremely difficult. So, your best way forward is to slowly work your way through the steps in this article. You'll be amazed at how much of your time is freed, how clear your thoughts become, and how truly productive and useful you can be to those around you when you start pursuing your passion and using your time more productively.