Are You Addicted To Social Media? Do This

It's 5:00 AM here. What if I told you I'd been on Twitter since 12:30 AM? This is the height. Somebody needs help.

A 3-Day Social Media Fast

We can use our phones to fill up every quiet, lonely and awkward moment, to keep us entertained, to be up to date, and to connect with friends as well as strangers. But how much time is too much time to spend on a phone, on social media or any other mobile device at that?

I am a blogger. It is expected that I use the internet extensively. I write and reply emails. I make and receive calls. Same thing applies to you. You use your phone for many good reasons. You probably rely heavily on social media to make a living or keep in touch with family and friends. I'm not judging your reasons for being on social media.

However, have you ever considered how much time you spend on your phone? How much is too much?

I have. We, or maybe just me, spend an average of nearly 3 hours a day on the phone - checking social media, watching videos, and accessing apps or the Internet.

I am keen on maintaining a certain level of creativity and inspiration daily. Thanks to social media. It's been of great help. But I have discovered that spending a lot of time connected to your phone can also become an issue.

Social media can be a problem when it absorbs so much of your time that;

• it causes you to neglect your face-to-face relationships, your work, school, hobbies, or other important things in your life.
• you can't get anything done because you’ve been busy chatting online, texting, or watching Youtube videos? Perhaps you find yourself working late more often because you can’t complete your work on time.
• you find yourself ignoring friends to read Facebook updates or compulsively checking your phone while driving or during a lecture/sermon, (don't tell me it's because you have your Bible on your phone. Don't deceive yourself, sweetie),
• you get a feeling of dread, anxiety or panic if you leave your phone at home, the battery runs down or the operating system crashes. You almost want to die!, 

then it’s time to reassess how you use your phone and strike a healthier balance in your life.

source: helpguide.org

OK. Lemme be real and personal here; when I say social media, I am actually talking about Twitter because that's the one I visit almost every hour of the day. I am not so into Facebook and Instagram. As a matter of fact, I have not logged on into my Facebook account for three months now.

And BBM? It's been more than a week since I logged in (Although not intentionally. The App disappeared when my phone was repaired. And I'd been very reluctant to reinstall it). That's no biggie.

So this is basically more about me not tweeting for three consecutive days. For someone who is close to being a Twitter-addict, three days is a very looong time.

THE RULES

To spend three days without social media. Here are the ground rules:

• State your start and end date. (For me: Start date is 00:00 April 1, end date is 11:59 April 3.) 
• No logging into, checking, or posting to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest (For me: just Twitter since it's the site I actually use). 
• Discussing social media is allowed (since I work in online media, it's a bit of a necessity). 
• Texting and email are allowed. 

I never wanted to make this fast public but I realized that if I didn't tell you, I'd login on Twitter again like "well, I didn't kill anybody". Lol.

I want to be responsible. Or should I say, accountable? Or should I say, trying to be more self-disciplined? Whatever. Choose anyone.

Would you take a social media challenge? Let us know when you will be embarking on a fast so we can keep a tab on you too. ;) 

March ends today. Yay.

It will be wise to step into April with a better clarity of purpose.

See you in April.

Cheers!

Written by Nwamaka Ajaegbu 

Follow me on Twitter: @Amakamedia
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Email: amakamedia@yahoo.com
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Heart Rays . . .giving out  the light.