The dress goes right with the funky pixie cut. The nude pumps just click with the hues of those Brighton bracelets, earrings and the single stone neckpiece. The makeup is faultless. But now comes the tricky part. Getting the impeccable selfie at the perfect angle! Of the many snaps with fake smiles, one or two odd shots may probably be your best bet to get the maximum ‘likes’ on social networking. Talk about the selfie mania! It is just one of the obsessions of a social media addict. And then, there is this obsession to post a status that is probably funny or weird or even hurting where the sole aim is to steal a part of the limelight a celebrity basks in, wherein he or she tweets and a hundred thousand fans reply back instantly! Social media is insanely enthralling for beginners. For veterans, it is synonymous with living in an alternative world. So, ask yourself:
Have you overlooked your priorities in life?
Have family dinners and trekking around in nature’s lap become a thing of the past?
Does the real world appear drab and daft to you?
In that case, pinch yourself because you are a confirmed social media addict. So, before you wander away into the puzzling maze of social media addiction, only to lose your way, here is what you must do!
Mornings and Nature
The morning is the beginning of a fresh day. And the beginning usually unfolds with you sticking your fingers to the touch screens of your phones and checking to see the latest updates, clicks and flicks and catching up on a lot of tabloid gossip from the celebrity world. In the midst of all the hoopla, people have forgotten those subtle nudges from nature like a cuckoo cooing or a crow cawing or even a flower blooming right under your window sill. How many times can you recount the instances of sipping a hot beverage and sitting in your balcony or being in your garden and hearing bird music in the fresh morning air? In the real world, those are experiences that you should not miss for anything in the world.
Know your priorities and love your routine
One of the primary reasons why social media addiction is on the rise is stress. The stress factor is only ramping up like never before in people’s lives. To put it in simple words, social media addiction is a temporary getaway for many people from the daily rigmarole of deadlines and routines. The million applications on mobile phones and the countless games on crushing the candy and investigating virtual criminal cases seem to offer you a break from what you see as a drab and a sad life. But have you ever wondered – what would your life be with a routine? A daily routine sets priorities and helps in taking decisions bound by the priorities. A routine also comes with small inconspicuous packages of happiness. For instance, a husband and a wife sharing their morning breakfast by talking to each other about family and work instead of scrolling down the social networking sites or a mother talking to her toddler and asking him or her about how he or she plans to spend the day or even spending evenings together by enjoying a dinner and a movie together are just some of the simplest means to get a reality check on your priorities that seem to be overridden by the unruly wave of social media addiction.
Call people up. Write hand written letters
The worst possible outcome of social media addiction is that man has learnt to pretend flawlessly and, to an extent, charade has actually taken over the character. Pasting emotions with myriad emoticons on messengers is no substitute for calling a friend and hearing the voice which you may not have heard in a long time. When was the last time you actually called a friend to wish him or her on a special day or write a hand written letter or even typed a heartfelt e-mail? When was the last time you talked with your parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts leisurely instead of checking for social media updates? When was the last time you took your own family out for a getaway sans the interference of networking frequencies? When was the last time you were in a place where the only contact possible was with real humans in the real world? It is time you call up and talk to your near and dear ones, even if it is infrequently. Better late than never.
Identify your hobby and hone it
The best way to rise above the social addiction frenzy is to make peace with your inner self. This can be done by identifying a hobby that not only busts your stress but also makes you happy and contented with who you are. We are currently living in a world where a mediocre selfie or a status NOT liked by a million people in the world is enough to flare up depression in teenagers and adults alike. So, always be on the run to learn something new. Shed your insecurities and strive towards pursuing new hobbies like cooking, drawing or even learning a musical instrument. Who knows, you may have just found your calling!
Take time out. Indulge in physical activities like Yoga, aerobics and Zumba. Read a lot and, if you have a penchant for writing, blog. Enjoy small things. There is a big wide world out there waiting to be discovered by you! To be happy and peaceful from within, it is very important that you live with yourself and love yourself for who you are. Good luck!
Visual courtesy: https://www.flickr.com/photos/buzzfarmers/
Are You a Social Media Addict? What to Do About It
