I feel like I spend too much time on social media. But I also use it for work. I am always trying to find ways to minimize how much time I spend on it. A big step I took last year is to turn off all my notifications, so I only see new replies, mentions, messages when I log onto the app. What do you do to minimize the "wasted" time you spend on social media?

If you don't mind the question, what is your job? I think some new smartphones can track how long you use a specific application and limit your usage, social networks included. I put my phone on silent mode if the work is very urgent to avoid all distractions.

I use my phone more for social media when I'm at work than I do at home, honestly. I do check FB at home, but less so as I'm playing games or spending time with my son.

 

I mostly just have mine set up to show funny memes in my feed. I don't use twitter (I have one, just don't use it) or Instagram (Same thing as twitter), so FB is the only big deal for me. I can spend a lot of time on it, but only when I have nothing else to do.

If you don't mind the question, what is your job? I think some new smartphones can track how long you use a specific application and limit your usage, social networks included. I put my phone on silent mode if the work is very urgent to avoid all distractions.

 

I do social media management for one company, so I am on the apps often. On my laptop I use Tweetdeck but on my phone I use the regular apps to keep track of updates, notifications. And it is a real pain the constantly log in and out of my personal and work accounts, so I usually stay logged in on both.

I do social media management for one company, so I am on the apps often. On my laptop I use Tweetdeck but on my phone I use the regular apps to keep track of updates, notifications. And it is a real pain the constantly log in and out of my personal and work accounts, so I usually stay logged in on both.

That makes it tough to quit or decrease your time on those networks. Do you have to log in for a long time every day and interact with every notification? I would probably run out of energy for my personal accounts if I had to use them for work. Decreasing the time for personal use is your only option so far.

Tell me about it. Friends and family have started remarking that I permanently have my face in my phone. Luckily, at work, phones are not allowed on the shop floor, and that is just as well.

 

I have tried to cut down by checking the things that I need to check, but cutting down on the browsing. When I pick up my phone I remind myself of what I need to do, then I stop after I have done it.

I uninstalled every social app from my phone and only log in when I am behind my PC, which isn't too often anyway. As your job is in the social media field, I don't think that's an option for you though. I also don't follow too many people so when I do scroll through my socials, I'm done within 5 minutes.

After about a week of being good, and not getting too absorbed in my phone, I fear I have gone back to my old ways. The past couple of days I have been avidly reading my phone again! I have been doing a lot of browsing of Rightmove, and dreaming of houses that I can't actually afford. I have also been doing a lot of browsing of eBay, and looking at furniture and clothes. I have picked up one or two clothing bargains.

 

I kid myself on that I am spending my time wisely when really I am not.

 

So I must try to put my resolution into action again!

I deleted my Twitter because I got too addicted to a few of the hashtag games. My Facebook is in inactive mode. I know I miss some friends and family updates, but I figure that I'll get a timely enough text or email if someone needs to share urgent news.

It is hard to stop once we start to scan through social media. What I did is to turn off the notification of pages or even friends that I don't "need" to see. They can still send me a message if they need to tell me something important.