Why I never use “Social Media"

… well, never say never.

While I don’t have the typical social media apps on my phone anymore, I do use them very rarely.

Around March this year, I took hold of my screen time and uninstalled any apps that had the potential for me to mindlessly scroll, lusting for lives that look so perfectly curated.

Once or twice a day, I go onto my search engine and check my social media from there, simply to see if there’s any messages or notifications and then I close it again.

Last month, I turned off all notifications. No messages popping up on my screen, no alerts and no stressful red dots on my apps alerting me to CheckNow!CheckNow! and it made a mammoth difference.

Social media, while it does have the power to bring people together, as we have seen over the pandemic, also has the potential to cause damage.

The drama aired on websites, anger in the comments sections, misinformation and hate spread everywhere.

I unfollowed, and unfriended anyone and anything that didn’t add value to my life, and now my quick checks of social media are as positive as possible.

While I’ve never been a big screen person anyway, making these small changes has made such a huge difference to my life. My phone has become closer to an asset to me than ever, now it’s simply a device for connecting me to people, and helping me with certain tasks, rather than something I stare at for extended amounts of time.

What are some of the things you do on your phone to make your screen time more valuable? Do you see the value in social media?