When you think about the dangers of addictive behavior, you may not think about social media. However, social media addiction can be destructive, as it can put stress on relationships, interfere with sleep, and cause you to isolate yourself from others. Going to therapy can help you learn to manage your social medial use so it does not monopolize your life.

Getting honest

If you enjoy spending time on social media, it is not always easy to admit you are spending hours swiping and scrolling. Adding a social media tracker to your smartphone or tablet is one way to gauge your use and see what time of the day you are turning to social media. Tracking your social media usage can help your therapist see if you need to discuss prevention tips or if you are dealing with an addiction.

Looking for subtle signs

Like any addictive behavior, social media addiction can sneak up on you before you realize what happened. Asking yourself a few questions can help you prevent addictive behavior from becoming worse. Finding you have little time to do things, falling behind in work, having to always have your phone by your side, or avoiding socializing can be signs you have a problem.  

Setting limits

Your therapist can discuss ways to set limits on social media use. You do not have to give up social media but rather learn to manage how much time you spend on it. Taking frequent social medal breaks throughout the day, setting aside certain times to use social media, or using it as a reward for getting other work done may be recommended by your therapist to help you reign in your social medial usage.

Establishing healthy boundaries

It is not uncommon for friends and family members to encourage your social media use by forwarding you things to view or tagging you in posts, etc. You may feel obligated to check your social media as soon as you get a notification. Learning how to set healthy boundaries, such as setting a specific time of the day to respond to messages rather than responding immediately, can help you control your social medial use rather than allowing it to control you.

Social media is not always a bad thing and can be used for many positive things. However, the problem occurs when social media starts to take over your life and consumes most of your time. Working with a therapist can help you discover how to limit your social media use so you can overcome addiction or prevent addiction from occurring.

Contact a therapist like Donald McEachran, PHD to learn more.