My goal this year is to use social media more.
That might sound like a strange resolution at a time when many people are trying to quit it. But, after years of avoiding social media, I’ve learned how to make it work for me, rather than against me.
For a long time, I wasn’t interested in social media. I preferred movies, music, and books. But over the past couple of years, I started consuming more of it. Whenever I felt bored, I scrolled. And almost every time, I realised later that I’d wasted more time than I intended to.
It began to feel unhealthy. I could sense it affecting my attention, my mood, and even my relationships. That’s when I decided I needed to do something.
My first instinct was to remove myself from social media entirely. I had read about people leaving because of mental health concerns, privacy issues, and the constant noise. Quitting seemed like the responsible choice.
But just before deleting my accounts, I paused.
What if the problem wasn’t social media itself, but the way I was letting it use me?
Every technology has benefits and costs. If we remove ourselves from everything imperfect, we’re left with very little. And as someone trying to build a writing career, disappearing completely from the internet didn’t feel wise either.
So instead of quitting, I decided to change my relationship with it.
I began setting simple rules. Over time, these rules turned social media from something draining into something that supports my growth.
These are the rules I follow now:
- If I’m bored, I don’t reach for my phone. Boredom isn’t a problem that needs to be killed with scrolling. I read, cook, walk, or do something offline.
- I open social media with a creator’s mindset, not a consumer’s. I post my work, look for inspiration, or learn something useful. If it doesn’t serve my goals, I don’t stay.
- I avoid platforms or sections that rely entirely on algorithmic feeds. I prefer searching and finding things that interest me over endless recommendations.
- I follow and subscribe only to content that helps me grow.
- I don’t hesitate to unfollow, mute, block, or report accounts that feel toxic.
- I don’t engage with insulting or provocative comments.
- I don’t search for the same things repeatedly. Useful content gets saved into folders or playlists.
- I set a timer before opening social media.
- I allow exceptions on weekends.
Like many people who struggle with procrastination, I once thought the solution was to eliminate social media entirely. Now I think the better solution is learning to use it on purpose.
Social media still has serious problems—privacy, data misuse, and toxicity among them. But for now, I’ve chosen to use it with care, weighing its costs against what it enables me to build.
For me, the goal isn’t to escape technology.
It’s to stop letting it decide for me.