Are there any practical resources/actionable guides out there for managing a social media addiction when you can’t delete the apps entirely/go cold-turkey?My friends entirely use FB/insta messaging for organising meetups, and I use Facebook Marketplace for buying car parts and other items to save money, but with the app installed I have a really bad habit of spending hours at a time scrolling.I’ve had a look online and a lot of the resources out there seem to be along the lines of “buy this product to lock your phone” or “go analogue” but these aren’t realistic as there’s no Craigslist or other widely used classifieds in my country, and I would lose half my friends/support base. I find it easier to not scroll when I don’t have the apps installed, but whenever I have to reinstall them to find a part to repair my car, new furniture, etc. I relapse really, really badly. Even generic addiction advice would help - I just need some way of eliminating the root problem when I’m not self-aware enough to know *why* I scroll/lack impulse control and don’t know how to develop that self-awareness.
>>33928566Same problem here i struggle everyday. What helped me was making it harder to get on the apps that I tend to scroll on (you can't really scroll on whatsapp). When you can't just click and scroll immediately the frequency of scrolling decreases. Also you have to evaluate what apps don't bring value to your life and WHY are you using them and delete the useless ones. I used to be addicted to tik tok for 2 years and quit it cold turkey because it just wasted my time. I only use YouTube and Facebook messenger. You said you have apps installed. I have 0 social media apps and accounts ( except Facebook )and only use their services through a web browser on my phone. This makes it less convenient to hop on and scroll. You can also try out leechblock but personally I just tend to override it. A psychologist once recommended that when I realize during a scrolling "episode" that I want to stop I should figth to stop scrolling and when i do just sit and wait for a few minutes. This way you can start to form a habit and can stop using scrolling as copium. To understand what i mean about an apps value check out a book called "digital minimalism" you can find it on Ann's archive. Also if you don't like reading or find it easier to watch something you can watch eddy's burbacks video on how he stopped using his phone and the "reject convince" channel. Also keeping busy and participating in my hobbies lowers my screen time
>>33928566i'm a lil zoom zoom who made a lot of progress by just mirroring what my early childhood in the mid- to late-2000s was like. we had a landline at home and a desktop, so i started by leaving my cell phone at my dorm and refused to move my laptop from my desk unless i needed it for an exam or something.then i worked backwards, which involved some pragmatism.>if i want to take photos in public, i'll need a camera>but then i have to decide whether i want to carry around a camera at XYZ event>would it be worth it? what would taking a couple photos actually do for me? will i ever look at these again?etc.>I would lose half my friendsunironically, real friends would find a way to communicate with you. you guys don't have phone numbers?>I'm not self-aware enough to know *why* I scroll/lack impulse controlchalk it up to being bored. there's no benefit to examining why you scroll.what you need is purpose and to value your time. if you have something you want to do in life, you have to train yourself to recognize when you're caught doing something that won't get you that. this goes beyond just consuming internet content. after a while, it does lose its appeal, and you'll wonder how you were ever able to sit on reels or whatever for hours at a time.
