Digital Wellbeing: Setting Healthy Limits on Social Apps

Social media can be a source of inspiration, friendship and useful information. It can also eat hours without you noticing and leave you feeling worse than before you opened the app. Most people do not want to quit completely; they want to use these apps on their own terms. Here are some practical ways to do that.

Notice how you feel

Start by paying attention. After a session of scrolling, do you feel inspired, connected or informed? Or tired, anxious and behind everyone else? Many people find that some accounts and habits lift them up while others drag them down. That awareness is the most useful starting point.

Use the built-in tools

Phones and apps now include tools that help:

• Screen time reports on iOS and Android show how long you spend in each app.
• App time limits set on your phone can remind you when you have reached a daily total.
• In-app reminders, such as daily limit or take-a-break prompts, are available in some social apps.
• Quiet or focus modes silence notifications for set periods, such as overnight or while you work.

Settings change over time, so it is worth checking your phone's and apps' settings every so often.

Tame notifications

Every notification is an invitation to open the app. Turn off the ones you do not need, such as likes and suggestions, and keep only messages from people you care about. You will still see everything when you choose to look.

Curate your feed

You decide who you follow. Unfollow or mute accounts that make you feel bad, even if you know the person. Follow creators who teach you something, make you laugh or share work you admire. Many apps also let you mark posts as "not interested", which shapes what you are shown in recommendations.

Make scrolling a choice, not a reflex

Small changes in your environment help:

• Move social apps off your home screen or into a folder.
• Keep your phone out of the bedroom, or at least out of reach.
• Avoid scrolling as the first thing in the morning and the last thing at night.
• Replace some scrolling time with something else you enjoy, such as a walk, a book or a call with a friend.

Remember what you see is edited

Most photos and videos are chosen, cropped, filtered and planned, as our article on mobile photography shows. Comparing your everyday life with someone else's highlights is never a fair comparison.

Create more, consume less

Many people find social apps more satisfying when they use them to make things, such as photos, short videos or messages to friends, rather than to watch endlessly. Sharing your own perspective, however small your audience, can be rewarding.

When to get help

If social media use is affecting your sleep, mood, work or relationships, and cutting back does not help, it is worth talking to a doctor or a mental health professional. You do not have to manage it alone.