Use These 6 Smartphone Features to Spend Less Time on Social Media

Social media apps can be addictive, keeping you glued to your screen and scrolling for hours on end. However, if you'd like to take back control of your time, here are six smartphone features that can help.

1 Time Limits for Social Media Apps

One of the best ways to reduce the time you spend on social media apps is to set daily time limits for them. This approach allows you to establish clear boundaries, preventing social media apps from consuming too much of your day.

Start by assessing how much time you currently spend on each app and then determine a reasonable daily limit. Use features such as Screen Time on the iPhone or Digital Wellbeing on Android to track your usage for each app and set restrictions.

Once you exceed this daily limit, your phone will automatically close the app and won't allow you to use it until it has reset.

2 Disabling Notifications

Every notification you receive from social media apps is an attempt to draw you back into the app. Be it a comment on your post, replies, likes, or a new follower, these alerts are designed to entice you to engage with the platform.

These notifications throughout the day can add up, and before you know it, you end up spending more time than you intended on social media apps. To avoid this, consider disabling notifications for apps like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other social media apps that you use.

To turn off notifications for an app on Android, go to Settings > Notifications > Apps notifications. Then, turn off the toggle next to app for which you want to disable alerts. If you have an iPhone, go to Settings > Notifications. Select your app from the list and disable the toggle next to Allow Notifications.

3 DND or Focus Mode

If you don't want to disable notifications entirely, enabling Focus or Do Not Disturb (DND) modes on your device is the next best thing. This can be particularly useful during work hours or when you need to concentrate on a task.

Using Focus mode (iPhone) or Do Not Disturb mode (Android) is an excellent way to strike a balance between staying informed and minimizing disruptions caused by social media app notifications. You can easily enable or disable these modes by accessing your phone's Control Center (iPhone) or Quick Settings (Android) menu.

4 Home Screen Customization

Seeing your favorite social media apps as soon as you unlock your phone can often tempt you to open them, sometimes even without thinking. Removing social media apps from your home screen can create a barrier that encourages more deliberate usage.

This seemingly small change will force you to take extra steps to access these apps, which can provide a moment of reflection and help you decide if you truly want to use them at that moment. Alternatively, you can also completely hide these apps from your phone.

On Android, you can simply long-press the app icon you want to get rid of and select Remove. Similarly, on iOS, you can hide an app by long-pressing its app icon and selecting Remove App > Remove from Home Screen.

5 App Locks

Another thing you can do is lock your social media apps with long, complex passwords. This makes it less convenient to access these apps on a whim. Typing in a lengthy and complicated password each time you want to check Instagram, TikTok, or other social media platforms forces you to pause and reflect on whether you really need to use the app.

You can set app lock on your Android or iPhone using the built-in security features or with the help of a third-party app.

6 Grayscale Mode

Most social media apps are designed with bright colors and are full of eye-catching content that not only keeps you engaged but also encourages you to keep returning for more. Enabling the Grayscale mode on your Android or iPhone changes the display to black and white, making it less visually stimulating.

This simple change can not only reduce the amount of time you spend on social media but also on games and other non-productive apps.

That should do it. Using the above features on your phone should help decrease your social media usage significantly. For more help, you can also explore dedicated third-party apps designed to discourage mindless scrolling.

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