8 Ways to Cut Back on Social Media Clutter
Advertisements, COVID coverage, and politics are cluttering our airwaves and we need a break.
image: Rudy & Peter Skitterians/Pixabay
So much of what we're seeing on television as of late has been real clutter. Do you agree? I realize when it's an election year that politics just becomes TV clutter to many of us, but add in a pandemic, and the holiday advertisements beginning to creep in and our glowing screens start cluttering our brains! A 2018 Nielsen study found that US adults spend about two hours and 22 minutes per day consuming media on their devices. Woah, right?! What a damper on productivity!
Here are 8 ways to cut down on media clutter each day:
1. Leave your phone outside of the bathroom and bedroom
You really don't need a handheld bathroom companion and the bedroom really should only be reserved for two functions.
2. Delete social media apps
I know this one sounds scary, but even taking a hiatus from the apps on your phone would help. So many of us get our news from various apps and the constant pinging and dinging of updates and announcements can take a toll.
3. Keep track of how much time you're spending on your phone
Set time limits on the apps you use on your phone so you can monitor your usage. You can set different limits for your various apps and many of them do give you the option to ignore the limit if you choose.
4. Watch TV before bed, just not IN bed
Once we're hunkered down in our sleep space it becomes all too easy to watch yet another show or catch another news segment and before you know it you've binged a season and it's way past your bedtime. Don't allow a television to disrupt your sleep schedule.
5. Turn off the TV if you're not watching it
If you're listening to the music channel on your television, that's one thing. But if you've got the boob tube going all day long, that's another story. Before you know it you'll get sucked in and mindlessly start watching. Also, having say the news on 24/7 can negatively affect you by spiking your anxiety and stress level.
6. Get work email off your phone
When you're tethered to your job you never feel like you've left work at the office (even if it's a home office!). It's tempting to constantly check your inbox so take away that temptation entirely. Work can wait until your office hours resume.
7. Put your phone on grayscale
Things look less appetizing without color. You can change the color settings on your phone so that your screen is filtered in gray tones. The less visually appealing the screen is, the less likely you are to keep looking at it.
8. Get an old school alarm clock
It's so easy to go down the social media rabbit hole first thing in the morning if you have to pick up your phone to shut your morning alarm off. As mentioned in #1, leave the phone outside of the boudoir.
Have you tracked the amount of time you spend on your devices? Which suggestion might you try to cut back?