Introduction
Social media addiction is the extensive usage of social network platforms, including Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, disrupting individuals’ daily lives. Despite social media connecting people across the globe, 18% of US citizens are considered addicted to social media, engendered by its variable reward system engendering satisfaction (Hou et al., 2019). The negative effects of excessive and abnormal social media enslavement are poor sleep hygiene, low self-esteem, relationship problems, and loneliness. The paper will discuss solutions to overcoming social media addiction.
Solution 1
The first solution is taking away the convenience by modifying a feature on the gadget. The brain reward system can be triggered by frequently dinging notifications, which are hard to resist reading them. Therefore, turning off notifications from smartphones and accessing media platforms through laptops and desktops, which have limited support for Android and IOS, lowers addiction (Hou et al., 2019). Putting phones in airplane mode or leaving them in silence and do not disturb fashion serves as the best strategy for minimizing time spent on screen.
Solution 2
Embracing good behavior drives limiting social media usage to a specific time. Adopting and following certain rules, like ‘no phones at the dinner table’ and ‘no mobiles during bedtime,’ enables separating real connectivity from online time (Hou et al., 2019). Exemplary conduct engenders taking hobbies that do not revolve around technology, which helps fight feelings of loneliness and boredom feelings. A busy mind assists in reducing addiction to social media platforms.
Solution 3
Another way of overcoming social media dependency is through espousing self-talk and undertaking reflections to improve work productivity. Communicating one’s problem with specialists, such as mental counselors, can help develop a timetable that guides the time to access digital Internet gadgets (Hou et al., 2019). Therefore, a person becomes focused on life goals and attending to activities more essential than social media, thus reducing addiction significantly.
Conclusion
Finally, social media addiction lowers productivity and may trigger hopelessness resulting in massive discouragement. It is required to break bad habits and manage emotions while using electronic devices, including smartphones having social media accessibility. People need to adopt good behaviors, or setting rules, modify some features in digital appliances, and communicate their issues with specialists to fight the increased screen dependency, which negatively impacts their daily lives.
References
Hou, Y., Xiong, D., Jiang, T., Song, L., & Wang, Q. (2019). Social media addiction: Its impact, mediation, and intervention. Cyberpsychology: Journal of psychosocial research on cyberspace, 13(1).