Scrolling into Stress: How can we get rid of the curse of social media?
Social media is a powerful tool. Use it to build up, not tear down; to connect, not compare; and to inspire, not impress.
— A wise man
Why am I writing this blog?
“Dear, we have to go out for a stroll this evening. Don’t forget,” I reminded my wife.
“Yes, of course. We have to stick to the health agenda,” I received a prompt response.
6:00 PM
“It looks like we’ve got a new drama on Netflix. I’m so exhausted. Can we watch just an episode and then go out?” my wife asked me.
“Okay, but just one episode”, I agreed to her request.
“Oh, what a twist at the end! I hope she (the actor) comes out of the personal tragedy in the next episode. I can’t wait to watch it now.”
Conversations like these happen all the time in every home! Whether it’s Netflix, Prime Video, Instagram reels, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, or something else, we all have our favourite ways to unwind. It’s easy to find ourselves getting lost in binge-watching, right? Sometimes, we feel that all that time could be spent doing something more productive!
Digital devices, whether your smartphone or television, are taking up too much precious time in your lives. Overindulging is harmful not only to your health but also to your interpersonal relationships. Please stop reading now and go to Settings → Digital Wellbeing → Activity Details.
You will get a report something like below:
Smartphones have become integral to our identities. According to the weekly report, this user averaged four hours of screen time daily, received 90 notifications, and unlocked his phone approximately 60 times a day. That’s massive. This can’t continue forever.
Statistics about the Social Media usage:
If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product — Andrew Lewis
The Facebook business model is primarily based on advertising and the monetization of user data. When you install social media apps, you don’t pay for them, but these platforms still generate revenue. How do they do this? As mentioned earlier, it relies on advertising revenue. The more user engagement there is—through clicks, likes, comments, and shares—the more revenue these social media apps can earn.
To encourage this engagement, they use various triggers, such as notifications, that prompt users to take action (mentioned above).
According to a report published in Backlinko, 5.17 billion people use social media worldwide, according to platform reports on the current number of active users. 86.1% of the world’s population is active on social media. I was not aware of it, were you?
According to SOAX research, on average, people spend about 143 minutes (2 hours and 23 minutes) on social media daily. That’s almost 2.5 hours per day spent scrolling through different platforms. Teenagers, especially girls, are the biggest users, spending nearly 3 hours daily on social media.
Why are we hooked to these devices, and what is their impact?
“Man is a social animal” — Aristotle, the legendary Greek philosopher.
Humans are social creatures who rely on and thrive in the presence of others. From an evolutionary perspective, we have always lived in groups, shaping how we interact with others and the world around us.
According to the King University article, From a neurological perspective, social media affects different brain functions in unique ways. It contains many combinations of stimuli that can trigger different reactions, and because of this, social media’s effects on the brain appear in various ways.
Positive attention on social media, for example, affects multiple parts of the brain. According to an article in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, accruing likes on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram causes “activation in brain circuity implicated in reward, including the striatum and ventral tegmental area, regions also implicated in the experience of receiving Likes from others.”
Let’s discuss the harmful impact of excessive social media usage. Let me get straight to the point.
- Mental Wellbeing: According to the National Library of Medicine, Excessive screen time can have a detrimental effect on mental health, particularly among young people. Research has shown a correlation between increased screen time and increased levels of depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders.
- Physical: Spending excessive time indoors on digital devices can negatively impact eyesight and posture and contribute to obesity. During the 1980s and 90s, children often engaged in outdoor sports and activities. Nowadays, many kids prefer to stay inside and play on digital devices instead. According to a report published by CDC, from 2017 to March 2020, the prevalence of obesity among U.S. children and adolescents was 19.7%. This means that approximately 14.7 million U.S. youths aged 2–19 years have obesity.
- Social: Too much indulgence in social media and video games affects social relationships. These days, we tend to respond via WhatsApp text messages rather than phone calls, resulting in less meaningful conversations. Social media likes have emerged as a new form of currency; the more likes a post receives, the better it is perceived. I found the term “WhatsApp University” interesting as misinformation spreads through WhatsApp messages, and people often accept it as truth. Sometimes, families are under social pressure to go on expensive vacations and post pictures like their colleagues or neighbours have recently.
Boycotting Social Media: Helpful Tips
So, what is the solution? How can we reclaim our sanity? Will abstaining from social media help?
Yes, it certainly helped me. Over the last three months, I’ve been on a personal journey of self-discovery and growth. I found time to write, travel, upgrade my tech skills, and, most importantly, take care of my health. This was especially important to me after a life-altering event in January this year.
One size doesn’t fit all.
To me, it was a big-bang approach. One fine day, I just uninstalled everything. I only use LinkedIn as a social media platform, as opposed to Facebook, Instagram, X, and TikTok on my phone. I also removed streaming platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, SonyLiv, and Disney+ from my smartphone; if this approach works for you, nothing like it.
Another approach as suggested by Cal Newport in his book Digital Minimalism, here are the steps:
- Abstain from social media for 30 days. This is also called a declutter period. Observe whether abstaining from these apps impacts your daily or social life.
- Identify activities you genuinely enjoy, such as gardening, taking morning walks, or practising yoga, and incorporate them into your daily routine. These pursuits will not only help fill the void left by social media but will also bring joy and inspiration to your life.
- Think of some constraints and gradually reintroduce social media with a set of constraints. The idea is to introduce lifelong changes, not just for 30 days. These constraints could be to check social media messages from a desktop browser only. Don’t binge-watch; instead, watch only two or three episodes per week. There is a chance that even after reintroducing social media, you might not engage much and may continue pursuing the habits formed during step 2.
Testimonials
- Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen’s testimony to a congressional subcommittee revealed that the platform’s allowance of harmful content is “disastrous” for society, with children being particularly vulnerable. This is driven by the astronomical profits such content generates, a fact that should raise serious concerns.
- University of Toronto study suggests despite creating a greater sense of belonging for some users, researchers found that frequenting the social media platform is associated with a drop in positive emotions and a surge in outrage, political polarization and boredom.
Suggestive Reading
- Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World
- Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now
- Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life
- The Attention Merchants: The Epic Struggle to Get Inside Our Heads
Conclusion
I just heard the news that the Australian government is planning to introduce “world-leading” legislation to ban children under 16 from social media. Hence, this story was written at a very appropriate time.
Stepping away from social media is like rediscovering a part of yourself you’d forgotten existed. You start noticing things again — the sound of birds, the smell of coffee in the morning, the warmth of actual conversations. Without the endless scrolling, there’s time to pick up that book you’ve been meaning to read, take a walk without worrying about posting it, or simply sit in silence without feeling the pull of a notification.
Choosing to live more offline isn’t about isolation; it’s about reconnecting with what’s real and right in front of us. When we stop living through a screen, life feels richer, moments feel deeper, and even the smallest things can feel like new again. Here’s to creating memories that don’t need to be posted or ‘liked’ — just lived.
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