Social media escapism is an addiction. But you have the power to break free. Here are four solutions to help you regain control of your life and escape social media addiction.

The Problematic Impact of Social Media

Social media has become a dopamine addiction in people's daily lives. Social media entices you by saying you can make "friends" and form professional connections. Or, you waste time scrolling through pictures and watching videos for entertainment. Social media delivers vanity, unrealistic expectations, and external validation to users.

Vanity

Social media incentivizes vanity. Social encourages media users and influencers to focus on their appearance. Retake a photo or redo a video to make sure that it's just right. People carefully curate their online personas to project an image of success, beauty, or intelligence. This fixation on an idealized self leads to self-absorption and a distorted self-perception.

Unrealistic Expectations

Social media feeds you images of perfect bodies, unattainable beauty standards, luxury lifestyles, and get-rich-quick schemes. The consequence is having unrealistic expectations for yourself. You become dissatisfied with your life by constantly comparing yourself to others. 

External Validation

Social media rewards you with external validation through likes, shares, comments, and going viral. This creates an external validation loop. You are always seeking external validation online from social media. Low or no interaction then negatively affects your self-esteem.

People then measure their self-worth by the number of likes, views, shares, comments, followers, or subscribers they have. This reliance on external approval creates a fragile sense of self-worth. It can easily be broken like cracked glass.

Solutions

You can become less reliant on social media and get your life back with these four strategies.

Practice Mindfulness

You can develop self-awareness by practicing mindfulness. Be aware when you find yourself seeking external validation. Remember that your worth isn't tied to online or others' approval. You can engage in positive activities that reinforce your self-esteem, such as journaling or meditation.

Limit Social Media Usage

Set boundaries for your social media use. Designate specific times for checking your accounts. Avoid aimless doom scrolling. Utilize productivity apps such as Social Fever and Freedom that track and limit your screen time. You can learn time management skills by setting deadlines on a calendar, using a to-do list, and giving yourself a time limit to finish a task.

Cultivate Authentic Connections

Focus on building genuine real-world relationships. Engage in face-to-face interactions with your friends and family. Attending networking events. Go to local events where you live.

Authentic connections provide you with more substantial emotional support than virtual ones.

Embrace Self-Acceptance

Work on developing self-acceptance by embracing your imperfections. Remind yourself that social media distorts reality. It presents problems as worse than they are to feed division. Or it provides hope to drive views.

Know that everyone has struggles and insecurities. You are not alone.

Summary

Social media addiction is a form of escapism. Stop seeking a dopamine hit from social media and external validation. Instead, focus on practicing self-acceptance and living in the real world.

Order your copy of Thriving Solo: How to Flourish and Live Your Perfect Life (Without A Soulmate). It is now available in paperback and Kindle on Amazon. 

Views expressed in this article are the author's opinions and views and do not reflect the views of Secure Single. It is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Secure Single does not give health, medical, relationship, travel, or financial advice. Secure Single does not provide advice of any kind. Always consult and speak with a professional. James Bollen is the author of Thriving Solo: How to Flourish and Live Your Perfect Life (Without A Soulmate). It is now available in paperback and Kindle on Amazon.