Social media is a perfect example of a love-hate relationship: we enjoy spending time on it, but at the same time we know it is not always good for us and our mental health. It’s okay to say nobody’s perfect, and we all have malicious social media habits that are not good for us. If you are seeking help with writing an essay at the companies like Writepro.net, it’s totally OK to leave a note “write my essay” and enjoy the benefits of the cyberspace. But if you have any of the following seven habits, it’s time to step away from those.
1.Don’t creep on your exes
Let’s be honest here: we all do it. Social media makes it way easier than ever before to creep on exes and check what they are up to nowadays. But it’s commonly viewed to be not so good for our emotional state and mental health when we act this way. Madeline McInnis, a senior student at Wilfrid Laurier University, is making attempts to break this habit.
“This is the area I’m still working on, and all it does, it puts me on a big competition and makes me feel like I am lagging,” she confesses. “After some time, I decide to unfollow all the exes that really made my life uncomfortable. At first, it was difficult, but it almost worked out. The only thing is when friends post pictures with my exes – I end up following the news anyway!” But then she started a nice tally in her journal for notes something like ‘it’s been (tally) days since she last visited their profile. It may sound silly, but accountability of such things does keep your mental health fit.
Keeping a track in a journal of how many days once has gone since creeping on exes is a great solution to one of the common social media bad habits. Keep that in mind.
2.Checking social media right after you wake up or before sleep
Many of us recognize ourselves here: we do one or both of these things. But it doesn’t mean that doing it is healthy for us. Megan Mann, a graduate of Purdue, confesses her number one bad social media habit is going through it within an hour before or after sleep.
“It makes it so easy to start your day from a wrong place or end it not the way you planned,” she says. According to Business Insider, staring at the screen can contribute to the fact that you are having a rough time falling asleep. Feels like it’s high time to take the book you’ve been palling to read.
3.Tapping on apps with or without notifications
Just going through apps themselves is a bad idea because it can be mindless in its own nature, whether the notifications are on or off. Savannah Seymour, a fresher at Eastern Florida State, claims she felt the need to check notifications as soon as they appeared on the phone screen.
“I pulled up all notifications for social media apps, and I found much more time for self-management,” she says. “Now I only receive notifications when I open the apps, which minimizes distraction and helps to control the number of time you are glaring at your social media.”
However, Mariana Huben, a senior at the California University, states she has the contrary problem of opening the social media app even if there is no notification.
“It always makes me waste my time scrolling pointlessly through the posts that I hardly care about,” she says. “I realized that taking in too much social media started to affect my self-esteem as I felt like a loser looking at other people having fun. I ended up removing Snapchat account together with other apps from my phone so that I couldn’t check the social media unless I used the computer. This act helped to improve daily productivity and gave me the opportunity to take a deep breath and appreciate the life I am living.”
Whatever problem you have, there is, fortunately, a great resolution for both.
4.Aimless time wasted on social media
It’s a way too easy to start aimlessly spending time scrolling through social media. You end up killing lots of time at the end of the day. This is a clearly bad habit that Makena Gera, an undergraduate from Martis College, says she faces, especially on Instagram, Snapchat and on Tiktok. Tiktok is most addicted social media of 2019 as by regularly updating videos you get many free tik tok fans and get famous very fast sometimes overnight too.
“Everyone admits they spend too much time wondering though social media notifications and suggestions, but the fact that the page is designed to show what I take an interest in just makes it incredibly difficult to stop scrolling further.” She adds, ”Most of the posts I like are videos about food and pictures for style inspiration, and I must admit that endless checking leaves me feeling not satisfied with myself. I’m really trying to limit the amount of time spent on Instagram, but it doesn’t always work that smooth.” She is right about that.
5.Stop “Phubbing”
There is even a new term for snubbing someone you are around in favor of a phone. “Phubbing is a slang word now used for the description of the behavior when someone spends time on the phone even if he is in the presence of other people, particularly a love interest or a romantic partner,” states psychologist Dr. Joseph Cilona. “One of the staggeringly common causes of conflict in relationships of modern time is time spent on social media, messages, and emails.”
6.Using social media at the dining table
If you can’t have a meal without checking your social media, and you all of a sudden realize that others at the dinner table are doing the same thing, the social media has reshaped your life completely. Meal times are actually a place for making social bonding. A big number of studies prove that there are benefits of talking over a meal, discussing various topics. That results in less problems with healthy eating, better academic performance, and the absence of substance abuse.
7.Going through notifications when driving
According to the National Safety Council, twenty-eight percent of all vehicle calamities are caused by the distracted driving from the phone usage. The Instagram likes can be checked later. It’s not only about driving and texting that causes driving dangers. It’s also checking without typing that is a huge distraction, whether you are walking, biking or driving.