Beat your social media addiction

SO, the first thing you do after getting up is log into your Facebook, Twitter, My space, Friendster, WhatsApp account – and it’s also the last thing you do before going to bed. Does your work, studies and chores take a back seat?

Problem diagnosed, you are a social network addict. Assuming you want to get over this unhealthy addiction, here are a few steps to face your book.

1. Acknowledge your addiction. Accept that you are addicted and know that you ought to get over this addiction for a better lifestyle.
2. Whenever you have that urge to log in to see what’s new, stop and think why you joined this social network site in the first place, to connect with old friends or find people with common interests.

3. Think how much time you would be needing for these activities that you signed up for, be fair to yourself and make a timetable with time slots of the various activities you do while online. Say, 15 minutes for checking and replying to notifications and 10 minutes to update your profile etc.

4. Stick to this time slot and only use the social network site when you know that all your days work is done. Do not promise yourself that you will be online for 20 minutes and then get back to work, it doesn’t work and you’ll find that 2 hours have flown by and you are still online and your work is pending. Only and only log in once you are completely free of all your responsibilities.

5. Think about the useful things you could be doing instead of wasting time on these sites. You could: Learn a new language, play an instrument, socialize physically and not virtually, get fit and exercise, learn a new recipe, take the dog out, date an attractive guy/girl, do yoga, read a book or even pursue a fun hobby.