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Effective Ways to beat Social Media Distraction

Ways to beat Social Media Distraction

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You probably know that social media provides a platform for people around the world to interact with more convenience. You get to check news feeds, watch videos, read articles or posts from people around the globe. Perhaps, you could also chat and keep memories with your loved ones irrespective of the distance. However, as the use of social media is getting popular, do you know that it’s becoming a major source of distraction in our daily lives?

In this article, we come up with information that can help you understand social media distraction better and also how to beat it. Take a drive with us!

What Is Social Media Distraction?

Social Media Distraction is a vice that interferes with or disrupts the normal activities of individuals, due to the use of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube TikTok, and the likes. When you fall victim to social media distraction, you lose control of time, get isolated from real life, and become less efficient with work life. This vice lets you leave your activities to the last minute and lets you ditch on your high ranking priorities for the day, That’s why a proper orientation on the dangers of social media distraction is needed to curb its menace.

Why is Social Media a Distraction?

Well, social media has helped us in a whole lot of ways when it comes to networking and sharing information with the world. In fact, this post is reaching out to you through a social media platform. One cannot tend to overlook the good side of the media in the present age. Information is key, and the media has helped dispense them to the world at large.

But why is it a Distraction?

The real reason is that the use of social media is physically and psychologically addicting. There is always the need to read that article, connect with that friend, or watch that trending video. You can ask yourself how many times you are worried when your phone battery is about to run flat. Maybe you decide to meditate on the activities you get engaged in throughout the day, and then you discovered half of the day was spent on your phones. What do you do when you wake up in the morning? Am sure you check your phone to see social media alerts or notification

This norm has more effect on kids and teenagers at large since they are always on the quest for social validation. In their curious state, they won’t want to miss out on new trends online. Don’t get this missed up, social media is good, but it is left to us to control our time effectively and set our priorities right.

The Dangers of Social Media Distraction

To keep sanity in check, there is a need to be aware of the dangers of Social Media Distractions. Such dangers can be:

  1. Strains in Family relations: If, as a parent, you are always distracted with the use of social Media in most times. Your chances of keeping checks on your family will be minimal. You will be caught up in the euphoria of social media that you become unaware of your surrounding family environment. There will be a reduction in direct communication between you and your kids due to your distraction.
  2. Chronic Health issues: Social Media Distraction can make you stay glued to your gadgets all day. This, in turn, could cause some chronic health issues to your body system. For example, it could cause chronic Eye diseases due to the long hours of screen time. Depending on which position you are while making use of social media, you could develop pains all over your body. Social Media Distraction could even be worse for Kids; it could cause seizures and a host of vision problems when they stay Glued to the use of social media on their gadgets.
  3. Self-Isolation: If you are continuously distracted with the use of social media, chances are you become more isolated. You tend to find solace in social media, and chances are you won’t be interested in relating to your friends and family.
  4. Lowers Productivity: Once distracted with social media, you tend to lose out on your work ethic. You would no longer be productive and deliver timely. You could as well lose your job. For Young Kids and teenagers, there tends to be an overall degradement in academic performance.

How Parents Help Kids Beat Social Media Distraction

As a parent, once you notice a derail in your child’s academic performance, chances are they are being distracted. Now, the use of Social Media has been started has the biggest source of distraction your Kid could ever face. You have a chance of resurrecting your Kids excessive use of social media by taking the following steps:

1. Set Downtimes for your Kids:

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Your Kid shouldn’t be on the phone the whole day. Set a proper gadget-free time for your Kids. This is a time to keep them abreast and reality and get more focused on their homework. Doing this periodically as a parent will help reduce the excessive use of social media and eliminate distraction to a level.

2. Remind them of their priorities:

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Setting Gadget-free times might not be enough; there is a need to always orientate your Kids about setting priorities. They are not supposed to leave their school work or house chores to the last minute just because they are engaged with Social Media. Make them write a to-do list and follow up on them. This will make their day more engaging and reduce leisure moments, which could have been spent on social media. You can decide to make them make use of their media devices once they are done with their activity goals for the day.

3. Present Rewards:

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As a parent, you can provide small tokens in the form of gifts, money. You can also decide to make a promise if they can keep their set goals for the day. This activity will set your kids to be more focused on their daily activities rather than wasting it away on the use of social media. Your kids will always look forward to receiving gifts for the feat they have achieved. And by then, you helping deal with the use of social media.

4. Maximize the use of Parental control feature on social media Apps:

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Many media apps like TikTok comes with parental control functionality. This Parental control feature allows you to keep your kids safe from malicious activities on such a social Media App. For example, the TikTok comes with a Digital Wellbeing as one of its features to help your child manage how much time they spend on the app and block explicit content that can destabilize your kids’ mental health.

5. Use of FamiSafe App:

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  • Web Filtering
  • Location Tracking & Geo-fencing
  • App Blocker & App Activity Report
  • Screen Time Limit & Schedule
  • Explicit Content & Suspicious Photos Detection

All of the above can only be done when your Kid is at a proximal location. In a case where your Kid is a distance away from you, you can monitor or track their online activity through the FamiSafe app. This app is readily available for both Android and iOS devices. Using the FamiSafe optimally requires you to install on your phones and your ward(s) phone in a like manner. The FamiSafe apps allow the parent to help their Kids beat Social Media Distraction through the following;

    • Blocking Addictive Social Media apps: The use of FamiSafe gives you the ability to block the use of any social media App that could be a source of distraction. This can be done directly from your phone irrespective of distance.

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    • Setting Screen Time Limit: FamiSafe: FamiSafe helps your ward get more focused on their daily activities and reduce Social Media Distraction through by a Screen Limit feature on the app.

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    • Detection of Explicit Content: Many things could distract your child with the use of social media. And one of them could be explicit content in the form of malicious chats. With the use of FamiSafe, parents could detect explicit content in the form of Keywords from comments or direct messages sent to your Kids. By then, you can take the necessary precaution to help your kids.

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Conclusion

Social Media has come to stay, and it is now part of our daily lives. However, its use can get overwhelming, and this has a large effect on small Kids and teenagers. Therefore this calls for an urgent need to help curb this vice. This article provides the best take on the dangers of social media addiction and the best way to help Kids control the use of social media (since they are the majority victim).

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Moly Swift

staff Editor