The benefits of a social media detox, but how to cling on to sanity if you decide to stay!

Social media is often touted as being an incredible way to engage with your peers – by sharing photos, videos, your personal thoughts – or via some newer features, such as creating fundraisers and playing games. These platforms are powerful and possess state-of-the-art technology to keep you scrolling for longer periods of time – but despite the improvement in the underlying mechanics on social media, the disintegration of meaningful content has caused the largest downturn in productivity in generations. Sadly, I have been another individual that has fallen foul of social media’s ability to promote procrastination, so one of my frequently used apps has finally succumbed…

Whilst there will always remain a need for me to keep Facebook and LinkedIn personal accounts alive in order to manage my business pages, the first platform which has been thrown on to the proverbial scrapheap is Twitter – the shortform broadcast service which famously has helped journalists up & down the country to report celebrity headlines from the comfort of their own computer chair.

The beauty of the platform means that users are able to express their succinct opinions in a bitesize format, forcing them to get to the crux of a topic much quicker.

Used correctly, Twitter can be a really wonderful tool – and often it has been the “go to” place for news and information, moreso than services such as the BBC News website or commercial equivalents. It has been a tool where awareness can been raised, good news can been spread, and organisations and charities can benefit hugely. The beauty of the platform means that users are able to express their succinct opinions in a bitesize format, forcing them to get to the crux of a topic much quicker than, say, a mundane Facebook post could ever do.

The problem with the service however is that it has become the default home of knee-jerk comments, and opinions being presented as facts. Much of the vitriol on Twitter at the moment unsurprisingly revolves around the Brexit vote, with people on both sides engaging in some of the most disrespectful and condescending debate there is. Given the natural interest in politics, it is very difficult to avoid and not get involved in – and before you know it, you’re checking your notifications – busy waiting for the next response before you hurriedly conjure your next retort. It’s a time-rich, satisfaction-light kind of platform.

Similarly, given the fire-and-forget nature of Twitter, it is often used as a place where people “narrate” their day. Therefore, with the barrage of frequently updated diary entries, this will undoubtedly mean that at some point, there will be an occasion where someone you follow will have views which may not tesselate with your own. This is all well and good, however, given the fact that there is a seeming necessity to shock or be funny on Twitter, their views can often be conveyed in a way that is either patronising or arrogant – it’s not a pretty sight.

Therein lies the problem – some people use it as a laugh, and others use it to take part in serious engaging debate.

Even a fairly mundane topic, such as conversations about the football team I support (AFC Bournemouth if you didn’t know), can quickly turn into arguments and negativity. Throw into the mix the views of “opposition” fans, who will openly jump on the bandwagon and call you every name under the sun without any provocation whatsoever, and you start to wonder what the point of using the platform actually is! Therein lies the problem – some people use it as a laugh, and others use it to take part in serious engaging debate. In recent times, the two different sectors have merged, creating this whirlwind of words, which really – don’t mean much at all. Naturally, it wouldn’t be a surprise to you if I was to suggest it is the subject of politics that has got a fair amount to do with it!

Anyhow, for that reason, I have taken myself off the platform. My nature is to educate, inform and get my point across in a concise way – however many tweets it takes me. The downside of this meticulous trait is that I spend more time on Twitter than I probably should, and the knock-on effect will be a lot of procrastination, and a decreased level of productivity. Given that the work I do also lends itself to delivering above-and-beyond, getting involved in heated debates on Twitter about “who your favourite Spice Girl is” really does not do me any favours – as it begins to eat into meaningful time – whether that be work time or family time. But, we all know it’s Baby though, right lads? ?

Whilst there are ways that social-media-itis can be combatted, in my circumstance, I have found that due to the fact the general experience of Twitter is so poor, there actually is little point for me even “controlling” my use of it. However, if you’re a person who feels that you CAN achieve a level of satisfaction from using the platform, you might find that a detox is perhaps a bit extreme – in which case there are some really useful tips I can provide to help prolong your social media stay! Whether you’re loving Twitter for the engagement, the communication, or even just “the company” – you might want to look at a few ways of not getting bogged down by it all.

Ways to Combat Twitter-itis!

• Keep Twitter but delete the app. Take the temptation away from clicking the (as Sidekick Simon would call it) “little white birdie” – and only use it through your phone browser. Do not “Remember my Login” and simply visit the website when you want your daily updates.
• If you do need the app, turn of all notifications – likes, retweets, broadcast messages, the lot. The constant interruption is not good for you. Maybe leave your DM notifications on if you really want to be alerted to some direct private communication.
• Unfollow (or, if you’re not a fan of causing social media outage, mute) the people you’re not benefitting from.  I was following around 500 people – and I found that hard enough to follow. The average person tweets 4.422 times a day. Even for me, that was 2000 messages I was scrolling through, most of which I possibly wasn’t even concerned by!
• Make use of the Twitter mute function! If you’re bored of Love Island and think it is horrendous television, there are chances that even some of the nice people you follow might have an interest in it – so just mute the related hashtag. It will change your life!
• Try to NOT click the magnifying glass/search icon at the bottom of your Twitter app, as you’ll start to see content you REALLY want to click but know you shouldn’t – let’s just cut to the chase and call it out for what it is – clickbait. Rather like Youtube, you’ll end up in that section for a LONG time.
• Time your use on Twitter. Apps like Screentime on the iPhone can help you do this. Why not try to cut the amount of minutes you spend on Twitter in one sitting in half. Even set the timer on your phone if you have to, ensuring you log off when the timer is up.
• Have a reason for logging in! Before you click the app, ask yourself whether you have a good and specific reason for logging on?  If not, don’t do it! If you’re perhaps concerned that you’re going to miss out on certain announcements that your football team have put tickets on sale for the next game, why not turn notifications on for them ONLY!

Hopefully, armed with the above tips, your time on the platform can be useful and productive! Whilst it’s too late for me personally, I still use it for my Website Right Twitter account – where I frequently inform people of my latest projects, as well as receiving and answering questions from people who are interested or enquiring about my work.