How To Get Rid Of Social Networks Without A Relapse
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You could type 'How to delete Facebook/Twitter Account' in Google and delete your account within minutes but I can bet that you that you will be back on these sites within two weeks if not two days. I share below, the method I used to get rid of my social networking junk permanently without a single relapse.
1. Read how damaging social networking sites are to your life, especially understand the 5th point in that link concerning the Dopamine cycle because it will make you understand why you have been coming back on Facebook/Twitter over and over again since years and how you can prevent it in future.
2. Open up a Microsoft Word Document and write the amount of time that you have roughly spent on these sites. For example, if you sit around 3-4 hours a day since a year then, you have spent 4 x 365 = 1460 hours roughly. Unless you are living your ideal dream life, that's a lot of wasted hours.
3. Write down point by point how these sites have affected you, in the same Word Document. Link all the negative results in your life to social networking and write them down. Dump your negative emotions on these sites and write them down too. But be genuine; link only those negative results that are actually caused because of social networking addiction. For example, stuttering lately during talking in real life will be linked to spending way too much time chatting on these sites. A poor social circle, lack of time for other activities or turning fat will also be linked to spending hours on these sites.
4. Few more consequences that are affecting you could be wastage of a mind-blowing amount of time, loneliness, feeling inferior, stalking profiles, poor sleep-wake cycle, less getting out of home, less participation in sports, gaining belly fat, decreased productivity, less authentic real life conversations, getting a deep urge to log in even when you don't have anything to do, bent shoulders and back, tired puffy eyes, overall quality of life going down etc. Write whichever holds true for you in the Word Document and how cumulatively these are genuinely making your life a mess. Save your Word Document.
5. Although this would seem counter-productive, spend more than usual time on these sites for one last time but be highly observant while you do so. Inspect every element on the page, whether it's the constantly flowing newsfeed, what people post, what's being shared, the comments you've got, your profiles, your 1000 people friend list, your re-tweets, those game requests, ads, everything and ask how have any of these elements even added any value to your life whatsoever? If you are highly self-aware while using these sites, you will find that it is very difficult to spend even little time on these sites without doing something utterly pointless and useless.
6. If you have friends or contacts whom you have known for a while only through social network, explain them why you are leaving the site for good. Tell everyone whom you talk regularly with that you will be leaving the site. You don't want them to assume you died suddenly and get worried. You would be in touch with your real life close friends through cell phone anyway. Gently answer NO to those who try to convince you to keep your accounts.
7. Read the Word Document you wrote again and delete your account permanently. Not deactivate. Delete.
Avoiding The Relapse
1. You will soon realize that you were addicted to these sites to the same extent a drug addict is addicted to his cocaine. You will have the urge to use these sites the very next day itself. When you get that urge, try reading the word file you wrote. Remember that it's the unfulfilling dopamine-pleasure cycle making you want to login again.
2. You are not allowed to use these sites even for a minute. Don't even think of logging on. If you get the urge to use the computer, start the PC, put on some music and start cleaning and sorting your hard disks files and browser bookmarks. Just because you gave up social media doesn't mean you can spend the same time on useless Internet surfing. Keep your Internet surfing to a minimum too. Even though I am a blogger, I surf the net only 5 minutes a day and plan to decrease it to 5 minutes a week only soon.
3. Meet your real life friends. Read a book. Pursue your hobbies. Watch a movie. Go for a walk. Work out. Write. De-clutter the mess in your home. You will need to do these things because you will have unusually huge amount of time free in your hands. If you don't do something that you enjoy, you will obviously feel like using social media again and are very likely to hit relapse. So pay particular attention to implementing this point.
4. I started feeling more clearer in my thoughts just few days after I cut down on my social media and Internet use. So you might feel the same too.
5. It has been over two months since I quit social networks and reduced my Internet usage time and shockingly I haven't has a single mood swing because of loneliness since. My theory is that people with an active and fun life don't use Internet much. So those who are left on social networks are predominantly lonely people. So the longer you stay in the lonely Internet world, the more lonely you feel.