The Danger of Social Media Distractions in Today’s Internet Age

By Rotimi Onadipe

In today’s internet age, social media plays many important roles in our daily lives but when we allow it to distract us, it poses many risks to almost every aspect of our life.

The dark side of social media is its addictive nature. As social media is becoming more popular, users all over the world, irrespective of age, sex, status, profession or nationality spend a large amount of their time on social media, chatting, updating status, exchanging pictures, sharing trending news and videos etc.

There is no doubt that social media has become part of our daily lives. As long as we have a smartphone, social media accounts or we belong to any social media platform, we may experience a low level of productivity in school, place of work or personal projects because our easy accessibility to these social networking sites may put us at risk of being distracted by its interesting features.

Social media distraction occurs when our attention is taken away from our daily obligations because we want to be on social media for certain reasons. Social media distraction is real and it affects most internet users directly or indirectly.

For many people, it is an irresistible temptation to check their phone when a notification pops up. Others cannot do without chatting on social media while talking, reading, praying, eating, cooking or driving. All these contribute to distractions from daily responsibilities.

As long as we have social media accounts and we are active in some social media platforms, we may sometimes experience distractions and low productivity in school, place of work or other personal projects due to our easy accessibility to these social networking websites.

Common social media distractions:

1. Checking your phone first thing in the morning before doing other things.
2. Checking social media during work or school hours.
3. Chatting on social media while eating, cooking, talking, walking or driving.
4. Chatting secretly during important meetings.
5. Responding to social media posts in the toilet or bathroom.
6. Changing the date or time of an important meeting because you want to stay longer on social media.

However, to fulfil your daily responsibilities and avoid social media distractions, the following tips will be of great help:

1. Turn off notifications.
2. Don’t switch on your data at all times.
3. Create a schedule for your social media usage and keep to it.
4. Avoid chatting during working hours or study time.
5. Limit the number of your social media accounts or platforms you belong to.
6. Be focused on your daily obligations and don’t allow social media to distract you from your daily obligations.
7. Start a productive morning routine every day before you check your phone.
8. Don’t reply, comment, like or share every post you see online.
9. Delete all Apps that you don’t really need on your device.
10. Limit the number of what you post on social media.
11. Take a record of what you learn on social media every day.
12. Develop a hobby that is very informative and educative and practice it every day.
13. Switch off your phone or put it on silent mode during important meetings.
14. Avoid chatting while walking, reading, eating, cooking or driving.
15. Don’t postpone an important journey or change the date or time of an important meeting because you want to stay longer on social media.