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You’re not the only one who has tried and failed (multiple times) to quit social media. Over the past few years, I’ve tried to take a break from Facebook and couldn’t do it for more than a couple of days.

I quit watching TV when I was in junior high school and spent my leisure time on the Internet. That was before smartphones, but I already lived my life online most of the time. As someone who was bullied throughout her childhood, the Internet was such an escape. I met people with shared interests, and they became friends in real life.

Then Facebook became popular, and everything online shifted like it was swallowed by this giant wave of a tech company. Now, there are not only fan pages but also groups and marketplace, and for the most part, you don’t need other sites in your life. Facebook has changed the way we live and make a living.

Are you selling something?
Do you have a Facebook page?
How many likes have you got?

Social media isn’t just a place anymore. It has become part of our ways of life. It’s not only about sharing pictures and status updates but what we do for a living. That’s one of the reasons that it’s hard to take a break from.

For me, Facebook is also like a dump. People throw unwanted stuff at you, and all you can do is either unfollow them or suffer it. But what to do if you don’t want to just unfollow them? Some of their posts are not bad. I’ve learned since I was young that no news is good news. It’s one of the reasons I quit TV. But then Facebook came along, and before you know it, all kinds of news are all over your feed.

The only thing you can do is limit your time on Facebook, but then over so many years that you’ve become an addict to information, you’d be itching to know what’s going on. And if your work requires communication via this platform, then you’re doomed.

I’m just kidding.

I’ve tried and got positive results from the Facebook marketplace. That’s where a lot of my clients are, and in this day and age customers are more demanding than ever. Your prospective clients might go somewhere else instead if you’re too slow to reply.

But don’t give up hope just yet.

If you’ve been following my blog, you probably know that I’ve been dealing with mental illness. That’s what makes excessive use of Facebook worse for me. Sometimes I feel like I want to live under a rock, but that’s also unhealthy. Things people share on their timelines, not to mention Facebook ads, are often offensive, hurtful, unwanted, and intrusive. These are what people normally don’t want and are willing to push away from them. An excessive amount of these posts can upset even people with healthy minds.

Here’s what I think you should try:

  1. Start with yourself. If you don’t like people giving you trash, then don’t do it. Think before you share anything and don’t share too much. It would also be easier for you to take a break this way. Humans are social creatures, but we don’t spend time with other people all the time. Everyone needs time for themselves.
  2. Limit your time on Facebook. I know it’s hard because of the fear of missing out and its importance to your work. But how about we draw up a schedule? Just like having breakfast, brushing your teeth, and watching the news, you don’t need to use Facebook all day long.
  3. Think about the time you’d get back if you can manage your time on Facebook. What makes you happy? And how much have you been doing that lately? With Covid-19, it’s probably not possible to go out and live our lives the way we did before. But there are other things you can do at home, and most of them are much better than Facebooking.
  4. Let it go. Your business is important, but is it worth a mental breakdown? Social media doesn’t ruin your mental health in one day, but over time it adds up. All the trash, all the hate, you name it, will soon take a toll on you, if not already.

As someone who has used and become addicted to social media for over ten years, I know this is hard. But I believe that a small step each day will make a difference, just like when you start doing anything.