I'm working on a guide on how to reduce your social media usage -- If you have tips/advice that could fit that page, comment here and I'll add them! :)
I always try to think of WHY im going to a certain site, or why im using my phone/computer in the first place. if its to get inspiration/references for a creative project for example, then I remind myself that its a good use of my time. but if I can't think of a reason and im just doing those things for the sake of it, I remind myself that ill regret wasting that time later
not that every single second has to be super productive all the time, but I at least want to generally be doing things I enjoy, instead of things that just make me stop thinking for a while
I usually set myself a timer on my phone on certain apps, especially Tiktok. Though yeah finding other things to do or maybe take up some hobbies? Plus stepping away to be productive & doing chores is a thing I also do!
deleting apps for shortform content (insta) from my phone and slowly weaned off of them from using only the web version then entirely droppping it worked great 4 me
honestly? get a friend/family member/trusted individual to hold you accountable. have someone to go to when you feel you're doomscrolling who can get you off. that worked wonders for me, moreso than any quick trick.
don't know if you have any time to read a whole book, but I really recommend "digital minimalism" by Cal Newport! it dives really deep into this particular subject, if you're interested
If you use your phone, start with that since you take it everywhere. Every morning I went outside to get some air and left my phone behind for as long as I could. You'll get urges and it's okay if you do. But if you keep doing that eventually you'll be leaving your phone out to die lol. A schedule helps. I did this every weekend morning.
I set my phone to do not disturb after a certain time of day. I set it so I can get texts from certain people but otherwise, it turns off all notifications from social media. I discovered when I'm not getting notifs from those apps, I check them less. Almost never!
I try to stick with the website versions of social media platforms. even on mobile, so I can customize and remove anything addictioning with extensions. I've done this a lot back then, like for instance, Instagram: https://userstyles.world/style/15307/less-distracting-instagram-mobile
nowadays I just kinda stick with platforms that don't have an endless feed, or are mediocre at recommendations. like bluesky... at some point, the chronological feed is gonna dry up, and you literally cannot consume more
I mean just stop doomscrolling and set your phone to black and white only. That could help
I wrote a blog post about how setting up app usage limits helps me everyday to limit my time looking at a screen and social media: https://arimamary.neocities.org/04%20blog/posts/2026-03-19-my-mobile-app-usage-limits.
I also wrote another post about using a RSS feed reader to pull feeds from folks I'm interested in keeping up with without having to check social media everyday: https://arimamary.neocities.org/04%20blog/posts/2026-03-21-rss-feeds-and-where-to-find-them (need to change the title). Hope these help!
starting hobbies really helped me stay away from social media. whenever i catch myself doomscrolling, i just stop and go do one of my hobbies.
I've got timers on my social media apps
just blocking social media on your phone and only scrolling on desktop will reduce the urge to scroll so much it’s crazy
I always try to think of WHY im going to a certain site, or why im using my phone/computer in the first place. if its to get inspiration/references for a creative project for example, then I remind myself that its a good use of my time. but if I can't think of a reason and im just doing those things for the sake of it, I remind myself that ill regret wasting that time later
not that every single second has to be super productive all the time, but I at least want to generally be doing things I enjoy, instead of things that just make me stop thinking for a while
I usually set myself a timer on my phone on certain apps, especially Tiktok. Though yeah finding other things to do or maybe take up some hobbies? Plus stepping away to be productive & doing chores is a thing I also do!
deleting apps for shortform content (insta) from my phone and slowly weaned off of them from using only the web version then entirely droppping it worked great 4 me
honestly? get a friend/family member/trusted individual to hold you accountable. have someone to go to when you feel you're doomscrolling who can get you off. that worked wonders for me, moreso than any quick trick.
don't know if you have any time to read a whole book, but I really recommend "digital minimalism" by Cal Newport! it dives really deep into this particular subject, if you're interested
If you use your phone, start with that since you take it everywhere. Every morning I went outside to get some air and left my phone behind for as long as I could. You'll get urges and it's okay if you do. But if you keep doing that eventually you'll be leaving your phone out to die lol. A schedule helps. I did this every weekend morning.
From there, I deleted my social media accounts.
I set my phone to do not disturb after a certain time of day. I set it so I can get texts from certain people but otherwise, it turns off all notifications from social media. I discovered when I'm not getting notifs from those apps, I check them less. Almost never!
I try to stick with the website versions of social media platforms. even on mobile, so I can customize and remove anything addictioning with extensions. I've done this a lot back then, like for instance, Instagram: https://userstyles.world/style/15307/less-distracting-instagram-mobile
nowadays I just kinda stick with platforms that don't have an endless feed, or are mediocre at recommendations. like bluesky... at some point, the chronological feed is gonna dry up, and you literally cannot consume more