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xoxomireya · 3 months

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ㆍ⇋﹒how to fix your phone and social media addiction: a tutorial ；ᨴ﹑📲ˎˊ˗

DO NOT delete social media !!

If your phone is taking over your life, who’s the real culprit? Exactly. Social media is not bad per se, the problem comes in when the content that you surround yourself with is toxic and unhealthy. Use your phone and social media for motivation, productivity, inspiration… Mindlessly scrolling is the real problem, not social media.

Don’t you have something better to do?

Being on our phones and constantly scrolling mindlessly through social media gives us dopamine and makes us addicted to it. But the thing is, phones aren’t the only thing that can give you dopamine. Explore and experiment life to see what can give you dopamine. For example, I love reading and when I’m doing it I never think of going on my phone because doing something that I love already gives me the dopamine that I seek.

Discipline is key.

This is kind of obvious since discipline is the solution to most of these issues but you actually need to learn how to have discipline. Change your mindset to one that understands that getting used to comfort will only bring weakness in the long run whilst getting out of your comfort zone will build strength. Start by choosing to do something that will be better for you in the long run even if it’s hard than settling for brief happiness just because it’s easier.

Start by not going on your phone first thing in the morning.

Going on your phone first thing in the morning will pretty much guarantee that you’ll be glued to it the rest of the day because the first dopamine hit that you get in the day is what you will continue to look for throughout the day. Get an alarm clock or just leave your phone in another room (e.g. your bathroom) throughout the night so when the alarm goes off in the morning you’ll be forced to get out of bed and not crawl back in it with your phone.

Change your phone from color to black and white.

Accesibility > display & text size. If the only colors you see on your phone are black and white it’s just not going to hit the same, you’re not going the get the same dopamine hit and you’re not going to want to mindlessly scroll because it’s not giving your brain that reward and that satisfaction that you would usually get, which is what unconsciously keeps us coming back.

#it girl #self care #self love #social media addiction #phone addiction #self improvement #self worth #self healing #self development #new year new me #girly #divine feminine #that girl #inspiration

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imbusystudying · 4 months

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Tips do decrease your phone screen time

With the new year coming closer and closer (literally tomorrow lol), the phrase 'new year, new me' is getting popular again. One of the things I notice a lot of people would like to change is their phone screen time, or their phone addiction. Here are some tips that helped me do just that!

Set timers. Every time you go on an your phone just for fun (tiktok, instagram, pinterest...) set a timer on your clock app for how long you want to be on it. I think we all know the feeling of thinking you'll go on your phone for 10 mins max, and oops it's 2 hours later and you're still on it. So set the timer for 15 mins or smth (and try not to hit snooze)

Be mindful. To some of at least, opening your favourite app is like a reflex. Try to change that by realising you opened it, and think 'do I have the time, mood, or energy to consume this?' if no, close it again.

Put limits on your apps in your settings app. I am not sure if every phone has this, but you can set daily limits on some of the apps, and when your time runs out it will automatically close the app and wont let you go on it again.

Make new hobbies. This could be anything - crocheting, knitting, playing an instrument, drawing... And so many more. So you have more to do instead of going on your phone!

I hope this helps, and lmk if you would like more of these tips! Have a great new year!

2024 will be our year!

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princetofbone · 6 months

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ways to reduce phone time:

Starting this by saying that my screen time use is AWFUL. I spend upwards of 7 hours a day on my phone. This shouldn't continue for the school year because it is time I should be using for other things.

Set app limits- this method works for some people. I don't love it, because it's so easy to bypass, but my goal is to put up as many walls as possible for accessing my phone- even if they're paper.

Deleting distracting apps- this one works well for me. I hate logging into apps, and I don't like waiting to re-download them, so it is a great block for things like tiktok. I do want to post on tiktok and have fun with it, but I can't use it in a healthy way right now, so I'm putting it on hold.

Figure out why I'm on my phone and replace it with something similar but more productive- this one is pretty self explanatory. I spend most of my phone time reading fanfic, and I want that time to be spent doing something more productive, so if I always have a book on hand- one that's easier to get to than my phone, I will usually go for the book.

Make my phone hard to access- for me, this means putting it inside my backpack at the bottom of the front pocket. It is difficult to reach, and usually I just can't be bothered to get it out.

Obviously, these are pretty specialized towards me, but hopefully this is some level of helpful for others hoping to decrease their screentime.

#screentime #student #studyblr #study #motivation #screen time #study tips #reducing screen time #less screen time #phone addiction

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gougarfem · 4 months

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how was the process of getting a dumbphone!

oh my god this is something i'm so excited to talk about, sorry it took me so many months to respond!

getting a dumbphone improved my quality of life so so much. i knew my screentime was high, but didn't realise it was a genuine psychological addiction until i quit. the first few days were extremely rough. time seemed to pass about ten times slower, and i was forced to fill the hours with various hobbies and activities. i know we all love to tell people to touch grass, but i really did have to connect with nature and it did wonders for my mental health.

i think for the first three days i was constantly restless and horribly irritable, looked around for my phone every few minutes, felt intense boredom and even cried a few times lol. your addiction may not be as extreme as mine was and this varies from person to person. however, after about a week i realised i remembered everything i'd done each day, because it was filled with intentional activities and little moments of peace rather than a blur of scrolling. i also wasn't on adhd meds yet, which is something i'll talk about in another post.

not having everything at your fingertips is uncomfortable, but (and it's a cliche) you really start to appreciate the world around you more. i looked forward to spending time with my family, because it filled time and i wasn't half-involved in my phone the entire time. i use an mp3 player to listen to music, and uploading music to it is a meaningful and interesting activity, rather than just shuffling a playlist. i listen to whole albums instead of being flooded with dopamine from spotify firing recommended songs at me. i appreciate music more, i make CDs for friends, i have to be intentional in discovering new artists and music. if i'm having an interesting conversation online, i look forward to going home and logging onto my laptop to continue it. i don't spend my commute, time in class, or time with friends texting somebody else. everything feels more intentional, spaced out, and interesting, even the things i do online.

i also found i stopped performing in every activity i did. i stopped thinking about whether i could post it to instagram or instantly send a picture in a discord server. i started picking up new hobbies for myself, not for an online audience, and living in the moment more. this is really important in the modern age, although again uncomfortable.

the best part was how my connections with others increased through having a dumbphone. i started calling friends rather than messaging on five platforms at once, and they started reciprocating. my message threads are continuous, coherent conversations, rather than sending memes. people realised they have to intentionally reach out to me, and i lost relationships with people who weren't interested in that, but strengthened connections with people who did put in the effort (many of whom i barely talked to in the past). i give people my phone number, not my social media handle, and they actually start conversations with me rather than hitting follow. i get to hear my friends' voices when they have drama to share and realise it takes me forever to type on my flip phone keyboard. again, everything is intentional, takes time, and richer than when i had a smartphone.

i genuinely would recommend it to absolutely everyone (i've kind of become like a crossfit guy in telling people to get a dumbphone lol). i won't pretend it's easy, and most people make excuses - for the first few months of having a dumbphone, i was bedbound or in hospital, and truly relied on online connections to pass time and communicate. it still hugely improved my life. however, no matter your situation there are always, always better options than scrolling an app, and you deserve to pass your time in a memorable way. i think most people don't realise they're addicted/reliant on smartphones, and the idea of quitting is horribly uncomfortable, but at least for me, the benefits were worth it.

i'm happy to answer any questions, i literally could talk about this topic for hours (even if it's stuff like "how would i use x app" "how would i replace x smartphone function").

ditch your smartphone babe, u deserve better <33

#asks #hystericelle #dumbphone #phone addiction

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iamdarthbader · 1 year

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#gen z #teenagers #third space #screen time #parenting #phone addiction #safe spaces

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darlinguistics · 4 months

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'its just IMPOSSIBLE to not be addicted to your phone nowadays its UNREALISTIC-'

heres some advice to being less chronically online. for gen z (and younger??) who dont even know how to start thinking about it and have only heard shitty advice from older adults who just genuinely do not get it, from a fellow gen z and my experiences so far.

*these are personal and may not all 100% resonate but its still good prompting to start thinking about things! PLEASE feel free to add your own stories/advice in the notes! support your fellow humans, dont gatekeep what youve learned, lets have these conversations! and no negativity/pessimism please <3

first thing is to make it a less scary thought, a more concrete idea and not a hypothetical. it doesnt have to be all-or-nothing, cold turkey, a huge announcement and a fundamental shift in your personality. the internet will be in your life for the rest of your life, this is an ongoing relationship you are trying to make healthier thats all! and it takes one step at a time and some self-compassion, but a true effort nonetheless. 'dont you think thats a bit too serious-' if youre my age you quite literally grew up and developed online, it is literally part of your psyche the way your childhood is, it IS serious, you deserve to treat it seriously.

dont save your login info/dont stay logged in for social media accounts, having to manually log in when you want to go on like youre on some elementary school chrome book is a really healthy and clear boundary to have between being logged off and logged on.

-> bigger challenge - uninstall it on your phone in general, only log on on your laptop/pc if applicable for you!

if youre motivated to, try to work on your posture too. i only say that because most of our bad posture is at least partially related to being on our phones a lot, and when i started wanting to fix my posture, completely separately and unrelated from trying to break my phone addiction, it made it easier to lose interest in my phone since i didnt want to ruin my progress with my posture. it made me start to have a mindset like 'well if you cant do this on your phone with good posture then dont do it' and 'if youre on your phone so long your posture starts to cave in, youve probably spent too long on your phone anyway'

listen to music more. its easier for me to kinda write off my phone and do other things if i just open music or a podcast or long youtube video on it. i know we all love long video essays, but i recommend music more specifically for me at least because im less inclined to pause music or scroll while listening to it for some reason? whereas using a show or video or podcast for white noise, im way more likely to also be scrolling on my phone and that is my activity lol. music for some reason i dont want to interrupt and instead of being on my phone i can clean or do something productive on my computer etc

this one is sooo hard but try to fall asleep with some distance between you and your phone, even just a couple feet. mine stays on the desk next to my bed which isnt that far but its better than on bed like it used to be. when you wake up you probably wont feel like reaching for it right away if its far and even better if you have to get up for it because then at least you stand and move your body first thing instead of looking at your phone first thing. and try to get more and more of your morning routine done before touching your phone over time.

-> for me, i started by just trying to at least wake up a bit in bed before touching it, then stand up before touching it, then stand and stretch, then going to the bathroom first, making coffee first, feeding the cat first, etc. its surprisingly helpful to have a specific chore/task in mind that is The requirement so that everytime you do it you get a lil dopamine rush for unlocking your phone from yourself lmao. when the weather was nice i used to make my Requirement being outside first before going on it and i LOVED that. esp as it got easier and i started doing more and more before going on it and finally walking outside with coffee and my phone felt like such a pleasant little reward.

find a hobby that uses your hands. example: i really need to get back into knitting because when i did it regularly so much time that wouldve been on my phone was spent knitting with music/podcasts/shows/(even online lectures! when i felt productive lol) playing. its the same amount of physical relaxing - barely moving lol - but uses a longer attention span and a much better dopamine hit than scrolling, i literally MADE things.

-> you might be thinking, 'but mindless knitting isnt better than mindless scrolling is it?' but that mindless feeling on your phone is just that, mindless. the mindless feeling you get when doing something like knitting is actually closer to a flow state, which is actually incredibly good for you, like a fulfilling nutritious meal as opposed to 'empty calories' or whatever

get a widget for your homescreen that shows your screen time. i have one and of course it doesnt always stop me but seeing that time go up all day the more i use it and the pride of keeping it low is really helpful

practice grounding. in general.

spend more time on anonymous activities and have more privacy and less attachment with your 'persona' - what i mean by that is, i consider things like scrolling through tumblr (for me personally!) to be relatively harmless because i dont try to like,, brand myself here. if youre a tumblr regular you know the jokes - 0 follows, 0 notes, screaming to the void, moots you dont talk to, blorbo pfp and urls, fake names everywhere, and we're having fun! basically targeting the 'everyone is famous now' thing with this one - embrace being a nobody with no personal stakes here

-> personally ive never kept up with having social media accounts that are actually just, me irl - like a facebook or main instagram, like a locals account yknow? but i think it goes for that too - stop spending so much time trying to further personalize your online presence in the hopes of it representing you perfectly - because it never will, and it shouldnt, and you shouldnt aspire for that. your social media presence is lighthearted and incredibly surface-level, treat it like that! thats not me bashing social media either, having that mindset will make it more enjoyable bc youll be using it as it should be used!

do following/followers or camera roll/files or app purges. this is also a soft launch type of way to practice easing into a better mindset. aside from just literally getting rid of junk, the process of trying to judge whether or not you need something is good practice in mindfulness! even if you dont delete everything you feel like you maybe should, thats fine, youll do other purges in the future too. eventually youll get better at parting with things and realizing when things that feel good in a moment are actually bad for you. and it forces you to regularly check in on your more long-lasting parasocial relationships online and how theyre serving you or not

speaking of parasocial - for actual friends, if theyre irl, think about how much you interact with them online vs in person and why you think that is and how it affects you. maybe youll wanna see them more irl if possible (i promise its better for your friendship), maybe youll realize you dont need to keep tabs on them anymore (old high school acquaintances lookin at you). for celebrities and fandom things - try to think about the bare minimum content from them you could do with. you dont have to unstan all your faves and stop enjoying things - but do you need their notifications on? do you need to have a stan account? do you need them on all the platforms? do you need to have all that saved content of them? are there aspects of this that you love that could be found elsewhere?

if youre of the genre of online where you just cant help yourself from getting involved in big discussions or discourse and arguments - i recommend journaling when you get upset by something online, articulating your feelings without the idea of someone ever reading it and without the goal of 'winning' or being the most correct and logical or even the most sympathetic and morally good. take away every audience aspect of it. what is this really about for you, and why would strangers online deserve to hear your personal well-thought out opinions? why would your thoughts deserve to be simplified and misconstrued and underappreciated the way they would be in this discussion? is there even an outcome to this where you feel truly satisfied? are their people who are more worthy of hearing your thoughts who arent part of this audience? is this a conversation that is best held online where so much communicative nuance is inevitably sacrificed?

in the end these are all just practices in remembering how in control you are. and that goes for if any of these are scary or too difficult sounding too! these all become less scary if you remember that as soon as anything becomes too uncomfortable or painful, you have all the power to stop doing it, make a change, and try again later. so much of advice for quitting bad habits can be intimidating because the pressure and the shame that would come from failing scares you out of the possible benefits of trying - just go ahead and kill that shame from the jump. of course youre going to fail! you are going to have setbacks! thats part of it! you have agency in this, always. the internet is not inherently or completely evil nor good. build trust in yourself to make the calls on when it is serving you and when it isnt on a case-by-case basis, and then give yourself permission to learn through trial and error.

and remember you are worth all of this effort. i believe in us <3

#phone addiction #screen time #gen z #chronically online #i have no clue if any of these are even real tags tbh #mental health #parasocial relationships #<- very risky tag i better not get dragged into some discourse somehow #i have 0 interest in arguments resulting from this post #i am peace and love rn <3 good vibes only lol #this is also in honor of like literally all my friends saying 'less screen time' as a new years resolution lol #🌟.txt #adhd studyblr #new years #new years resolutions

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menace-bitch · 2 years

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cowboyjen68 · 3 months

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Hi Jen, thanks for all you do. Just wondering if you can speak to something I'm experiencing with my wife. I'm in my 30s and in a very loving, communicative marriage but one thing that always bugs me is how often she's on her phone and endlessly scrolling. We are in the midst of family planning and I speak often about who I want to be for our kid: someone who tries to be present, someone who spends intentional time with family. And she tends to agree with me, but it doesn't seem to change anything. Not that I expect that she does exactly what I do, but it can make me sad to see what was verbalized as a shared value go to the wayside.

I've had direct conversations with her about how sometimes I feel ignored or rejected when she looks at her phone when I'm midsentence or when we're in the middle of what I thought was an engaging conversation. She is very responsive to any concerns or requests I have (and vice versa) but the phone thing seems to come back up over time.

At what point do you find a way to accept things as they are? Do I continue to bring up my concerns or do I try to embrace the dynamic that exists in front of me?

This is my first healthy relationship after a decade long slide into hell with my ex, so I am still somewhat new to how healthy relationships operate.

Thanks again and I appreciate all that you're doing for lesbians younger than me to bridge generational gaps :)

The constant need to check on one's phone is definitely a habit at best and an addiction at worst. It can be a very hard habit to break. Admitting she is on her phone too much is only a small step. She really needs to see that she is constantly reaching for her phone without any thought about it.

See if she can agree to put her phone down, away from her, in another room and even shut it off for certain times of the day. Meals, when you are watching a movie together, when you are in bed and having those important evening couple "pillow talk" times. You deserve a few hours of her undivided attention daily or at least a few time a week. IF she cannot do that it is an addiction and I would suggest she seek some help with breaking the pattern.

If she agrees to set it down AND away from herself when you want her attention then I think you and she will find it becomes a good habit with practice. It will become automatic to put the phone away when meal time is here or when it is one on one time and that will become easier for her.

You are the only one who can decide if you can't live with the constant scrolling even when you are having a meal or an important discussion. IF she can't or won't try to change her habit you need to decide. If you are already feeling resentful for her lack of response to your very reasonable request it will only get worse unless she not only agrees to try but succeeds in breaking her reliance on the phone.

If you do not feel heard, respected, or feel like your emotions are being acknowledged it is not as healthy of a relationship as you deserve

#habit #addiction #phone addiction #constant scrolling

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party-gilmore · 5 months

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Also like. It's literally DAY ONE of my new screen-time enforcement. Not even a full twenty four hours yet.

And holy shit.

Literally, all day long, I have been physically itching to pick up my phone and get on here and see what's happening. Not even about specifically bad shit like I've been fixating on I mean for literally ANYTHING. Repeatedly, constantly, through out the day, picking up and flicking over to where the app was on my home page and just. Staring for a minute until I realize what I'm doing. Over and over and over and just seeking and seeking and seeking... i don't know what, but SOMETHING. To make posts, check posts, see what's going on... like physically fucking painful. And then towards the end of the day, the fucking anxiety literally all built around not know exactly what's happening right now what if I miss something. The fucking legit panic. Then the relief right as I sat down at my computer.

Like. I rolled my fucking eyes when people talk about the Youths being Addicted To Their Phones. But holy shit. Holy shit. There was. APPARENTLY. an underlying issue to ALL of this [gestures at self and the various smaller yoyo-ing mental breaks happening lately] that I had no fucking CLUE about.

On the one hand I feel so fucking silly for having such a hard time doing something so simple, just "wait till you get home then limit your time." But on the other hand there's... a bit of a relief element? Like "oh, okay, this was. there was something WRONG wrong here."

#and thus begins the journey of figuring out okay how much is enough how much is too much how much is too little #bit by bit by bit figuring out my personal shit #phone addiction #social media addiction #full apologies in spite of all the Clock App Bad Bird App Poisoning Your Minds shit i've rb'ed half serious half jokey jokey #I am CLEARLY not immune #and taking it a hell of a lot more seriously now

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wonderwithin-us · 10 months

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10th of July, 2023 💕

100 days of productivity — day 4, week 1

To do list:

1. Microeconomics: Introduction & Consumerism

2. Statistics: Introduction & Organization of Data

Note:

I cannot for the love of god memorize any of the definitions in economics. Send help? 😭 please, I'm begging. Tips are absolutely welcome. The history exam today went okay, I thought it was really bad at first but when the model answers came mine pretty match ~ also I didn't get time to read my treasure these yesterday or today! Tomorrow I'll reward myself with a no screen day until 8 pm

anyways, what's your favourite sweet to eat? 💗

Treasure 🪙:

1. The Song of Achilles

2. Circe

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rewcana · 1 year

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do you spend many of your waking hours on social media? do you feel like it's a problem? in this world of late stage capitalism, your time and attention is actively being harvested by big corporations. it's.. not good. it also just makes you feel bad!

here are some tips that have really helped me reduce the amount of time i give to these apps & get in control of my social media addiction:

1. IDENTIFY PROBLEM APPS

you probably know which apps you spend the most time on. however, looking at real data about usage is very helpful because time spent on social media is very deceiving. keep in mind which apps you spend the most time looking at and interacting with for the rest of this list.

2. TURN OFF NOTIFICATIONS

this is probably the easiest thing to do and it makes an immense difference. it's up to your discretion which notifications you want to keep on (turning on messaging notifications but turning off algorithm and interaction notifs for example) but, the most effective way to stay off problem apps is to turn off ALL notifications.

3. TURN OFF NOTIFICATION SOUNDS

i always keep my phone on silent. i understand that not all people have that privilege but, if you're able to i would highly highly recommend. it has helped me a lot with anxieties regarding waiting for notifications. i used to experienced the phantom vibrate and check my phone obsessively when nothing would happen. you can also just turn off notification sounds and vibrations for any non necessity apps if you don't want to jump to turning off all notifications.

4. CHANGE THE PLACEMENT OF PROBLEM APPS

i actually learned this trick from facebook when they changed the UI slightly so you had to be more intentional in interacting with the app. changing the layout of the apps on your phone really helps you catch yourself when you are automatically opening up apps that cost you time and attention. instead of keeping social media apps on the homescreen, keep it on a different screen, in a folder, & if possible out of the preview window for the folder.

if you want to expand on this more, you could keep a log in a notes app of every time you reached for an app that has since moved. you can even put the notes app in its place!

5. UTILIZE APP TIMERS

my experience is based on samsung app timers so i'm not sure how it differs in different makes. i really dont like my phone telling me i can't do something so i've set my tumblr timer to the highest end of my usage data (2hrs 10 minutes). another mindfulness thing that i like about using the timers is that when i'm switching between apps, my phone tells me how much time left i have (it's currently 1 hour 21 minutes, most of the 49 minutes i've spent writing this lol). i'm just a slut for data so i really like this aspect of the samsung app timer function and it's very useful besides this point.

6. DELETE APPS

okay, i know this seems drastic. but it doesn't NEED to be depending on your habitual problem apps. apps like youtube, instagram, facebook, and tumblr (to a lesser extent ime) (and probably others these are just the ones i have experience with) can pretty easily be transferred to being used exclusively on a web browser. if you use firefox it will even get rid of ads which is very important for overall sanity and for safe web browsing. one of the biggest plusses to moving from an app to a web browser is that it won't automatically play your platform's version of tiktoks. it also makes it more difficult to upload items which is a plus because it will hinder you from doing so and cut back on the loop of expecting validation from recently posted content.

opening instagram without immediately being enthralled by their endless stream of reels has made it SO much easier to control my time on the site. there are tons of plusses to transferring from app browsing to web browsing.

so on the more drastic side, if you are addicted to tiktok you maybe should just delete it. tiktok is intentionally designed so you can't use it in a web browser and can only use it in the app. i will talk more about tiktok and how evil it is later in this post.

7. MOVE DMS TO MESSAGING APPS

if a hesitation to turning off notifactions or deleting apps is from not wanting to miss conversations from online friends, i understand your pain. but, if you are serious about cutting down screen time on apps that are absolutely draining your attention, talk to your friends about switching to a different messaging app. i would suggest signal personally.

your friends may be experiencing similar problems with phone addiction and even if they aren't, if they care about you, they will make this accommodation to help you in this process. i get that this is very scary but i believe in you.

8. USE TIME ON YOUR PHONE FOR OTHER THINGS

depending on your goals for how you spend your time, there are plenty of alternatives to social media / other problem apps you may have. personally i have downloaded a bunch of books on my reading list and will divert attention from dopamine pumping social media to reading. you can find tons of free pdfs of books online and if you are used to reading on your phone, it won't be a difficult transition to read longer form narratives from short text posts.

there are free art apps, language learning apps, self care / journaling apps, meditation apps, etc. that you can use when on your phone. this may seem counterintuitive, getting more apps to battle certain app addictions. but, simply weakening the habit that brings you to the apps that you spend so much time on should help. but watch out for apps that claim they are to teach or better you but have social media built into them / other tricks that keep you glued to your screen. everyone is trying to mine your attention so be wary of all apps and the methods they use to keep you engaged.

9. DON’T BE AFRAID TO PUT YOUR PHONE BACK DOWN AFTER PICKING IT UP

idk if this is a weird one or not but, you know the feeling of going into a room to do something but you forget what so you putter around trying to remember? i feel like going on your phone when you have a phone addiction is often a state of that except the majority of the time you DON’T have a purpose to go on it. so even though it may feel silly, opening your phone only to close it right after is PERFECTLY FINE.

IN CONCLUSION, phone usage is pretty inevitable in this day and age. i've considered getting rid of my phone entirely but, between the expectation to be constantly reachable from employers to QR code menus at restaurants, it just doesn't seem reasonable to get rid of my phone completely. and i will readily admit its convenience and functionality is life changing and wonderful.

however in late stage capitalism, technology doesn't only work for you but it harvests you -- your data, your habits, your time, your attention, your wants, your needs, your thoughts. even leftist spaces with good intentions can trap you (doom scrolling). when i was becoming radicalized during the beginning of the pandemic i spent sooo much time online reading about all these horrible truths of imperialism, colonization, and capitalism, and i felt it was my duty to share these horrors with other people to radicalize them. but it was so unhealthy, especially when shit hit the fan (which it was like constantly doing) because everyone was posting about the horrors and it felt utterly inescapable.

after following some of these steps (which i did in stages over the course of a few years), my relationship with social media has improved greatly and my mental health is actually significantly better. all of this is based on personal experience and observation and this post is specifically for people who want to cut down on phone usage, it's not supposed to be a preachy post that's telling people they spend too much time on their phone.

it's also nowhere near complete. it doesn't tackle addictions to games on phones nor the notorious tiktok. i said i would talk about it later and here it is. i have a chalkboard in my kitchen and all it has written on it is "tiktok is the devil". i have never seen such a commonly used app that has such a degrading effect on all of its users. and it set a precedent to all other social media apps for autoplaying videos that demand user engagement. i was on tiktok for a little less than a year and the way that it would sap anywhere from 20 minutes to over 3 hours of my time when i told myself i'd only watch a few videos was insane. as an aspiring creator i felt that i needed to hop on it to get recognition but now, i don't see it as anything more than a tarpit to trap as many people as possible in its dopamine rich algorithm. but whatever, that's just my little rant. as a social experiment i think it's fascinating lol and i for the creators it's benefited im very happy for them.

anywayy, i hope this helps someone if it gets any attention at all lol. remember no one can make the decision of how you spend your time on or offline but you. not some stranger on the internet, not corporations, no one. you are in control of your time (well besides the whole having to work most of your waking hours to survive but that's what communism is for yayy).

#tumblr #social media #social media addiction #phone addiction #capitalism #dystopia #important #i hope at least one person reads this 😭#but forreal distancing myself from my phone and being more present in my life has improved it sooo much #cannot emphasize this enough #also phone addiction is not a morally bad thing just like any addiction!!!#the irony of me posting this and then staying on the app waiting to see if it gets engagement #ahhh addiction

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our-inspire-verse · 10 months

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I feel as if I've genuinely currently solved my phone addiction. I no longer crave Screen. I simply use it when there is down time and idly scrolling is a gentle way to reset my headspace while i need to pass time.

Also i laid down and read a book, not by force, not by other urges outside of my own want, just simply because the words pulled me forward again. This is massive for those not aware. Anyone who recognizes me can acknowledge i have not comfortably held a book since early highschool. It has been a near decade since it hooked me, let alone with so much vigor.

I am through the roof. I am joyful. I am in recovery, at last. My infirmary is not the muddy cave that exists in headspace, i am not unsafe in my bodily surroundings and i am finding that healing alone and without resource truly is agonizing, and much much slower and nearly impossible.

The mere act of putting neosporin on a wound nearly closed it in the span of 6 hours, where i anticipated having the injury for weeks, watching in pain as it shifted about my chin and reopened at any opportunity. It had stopped hurting within the hour of application.

Never have i ever kept up with showers or brushing my teeth or food, not even when my mom pretended to be on top of it before i turned 7, when my brother arrived and all constant attention was divided. I was not ignored in my entirety, but i was forgotten a bit and i cannot tell you whether thats better or worse than if i had been. All i can say is it hurt a bit.

Now, my pains are being treated with care and as truths. My mind is resting and processing as needed. Time is finally passing more normally, and I'm starting to recognize myself in the mirror. Some say it gets worse before it gets better. It does. And I'm so, so fond of the spikes of suffering in doing so

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