Facebook & Instagram, love it, hate it. Here is how you can create boundaries with these social media sites.
Maybe you already know these tricks, perhaps it’s time for a refresher. Perhaps this is new content, great! Welcome to a world of new possibilities.
Social media can be a great place to connect with family, friends, and people across the globe. Woohoo! But it can also be a time stuck, a vortex of triggers, & heaps of noise.
I personally struggle with boundaries with social media- I tend to have an addictive personality. This is why I only have Facebook & Instagram. In this blog, I’ll mainly talk about those two, but many of these techniques are versatile for your other platforms.
Over the years, my husband and I have tried all the tricks to create boundaries with Facebook & Instagram (and other social media sites.)
Here are ways that you can create boundaries with Facebook & Instagram
Screen Time Monitoring:
First, knowledge is powerful. Go find out which social media apps are your most used.
If you haven’t already, activate screen time monitoring on your phone & tablet. Both Apple & Andorids already have them – you need to turn them on in your settings.
Be sure to actually look at your usage after they are activated.
How can Social Media Effect us?
Social media has been huge this year while we’ve been at home. It’s kept us connected with friends and family across the globe. We use them to learn new recipes, watch little life hack videos, connect with other’s around our passions, & cultivate inspiration.
But on the flip side, social media can have negative effects on our mental health, decision making, & more.
If you haven’t already, watch the movie “The Social Dilemma” on Netflix.
It’s an eye-opener on social media’s goals, its effect on our psychology, & more.
Facebook:
Download the app “Newfeed Eradicator” on your Internet extension on your desktop computer. This extension will remove your Facebook Newsfeed from your computer.
Go into your Facebook groups section & “leave” Facebook groups. I did this last month & shockingly, I found that I was a part of 100s of groups. Groups that hadn’t been active since 2011. Groups that I never joined. Groups on topics that I don’t care about anymore.
For the Facebook Groups that you want to be apart of, “unfollow” groups that you don’t want to receive notifications from. When you join a Facebook group, they send you notifications automatically- from people that you don’t know or on posts that you don’t care about.
Instagram:
In the settings section, you can set an alert to let you know when you’ve spent a certain amount of time on the app.
Take Breaks Often
Take weekends off, 1 day a week off, 1 week each month, quarterly break… You get my drift. It’s up to you to choose your breaks. Treat your breaks as a reset for your mind!
Don’t Want to Delete the App?
In your settings section of your phone, remove notifications from your phone. Every time you receive a notification, it takes your attention from offline & brings you back online.
Set time boundaries around social media: meaning, you don’t log onto social media before or after “x” time or after your morning routine or before your nightly routine.
Move your social media apps off of your homepage on your phone.
Another boundary may be, that you give yourself “X” hours on the app each day. Bonus Tip: You can turn on parental controls on your phone & tablet. Set your amount of time that you can spend on the platform. From there, have a friend/partner be your “parent”. They will set a password that will stop you from changing your time limits later on.
You can take breaks & unfollow brands, companies, & people that aren’t serving you.
Out of site, out of mind. Turn your phone off & place it in a drawer. If you don’t see it, you wont pick it up as often.
Delete But Still Have Access
Delete the app from your mobile device & only use the app on your internet browser.
Delete the app but keep messenger. Connect your Instagram & Facebook messenger- that way you only need one messenger app to receive your messages from both platforms.
If you’re only accessing the platform via your browser (on your phone), you can download the app “Feedless” to remove your newsfeed from the platform.
Delete & Take A Full Break
Delete the apps from your phone & don’t use the platform on an internet browser. It’s not permanent. People can still send you messages, comment on your photos, etc. and you can see them when you re-download the app.
Other Social Media Platforms to be Mindful Of-
Set time limit settings on TikTok
How to spend less time on Youtube
5 ways to spend less time on Twitter
Other platforms to be mindful of are Pinterest, Reddit, Email, WhatsApp, Clubhouse, & any other platform that may be struggling with boundaries with.
This is how I feel when a new social media platform rolls out:
This is going to take time, I get it, I’ve taken the time to do all of these things. I promise, it’s worth it. You gain the most valuable resources that you have – you gain time, energy & focus,. With this space, you’ll be able to have deeper connections with loved ones, pursue your passions, & more clarity.
Did I miss anything tips or tricks? Feel free to comment below!
