Breaking out of my Autopilot Series - Overcoming digital media addiction

DJ Lad
Nov 8, 2024
3 min read

I observed my habits and patterns over the last 2 days, and I noticed I had this addiction which was so strikingly obvious yet so meticulously hidden amongst the hustle of daily life.

It was present at every moment of the day - from the moment I woke up to the time I went to bed.

🕢 The first thing I did when I woke up was to check my friend’s insta stories. It sure gave me a fresh shot of dopamine every morning.

🥞 For breakfast, I consumed an hour of latest affairs, random instagram posts, facebook posts, emails and occasionally an episode of latest Kdrama along with tea and bread.

💻 While doing work, I would have all genres of music playing continuously in the background. There were many times I would finish listening to the entire playlist before I even ended my work.

🚆 Even when I am not doing work, I would catch myself randomly browsing through social media just to get some sort of pleasure. For instance, you would catch me scrolling on my phone while I am walking to the grocery store below my house to shop for some items.

Why is social media, music and television shows so addictive? Yes you might guessed it by now - dopamine. The reward center of our brains release dopamine in response to a pleasurable experience. As we find social media pleasurable, our brains will release dopamine. Dopamine will help us sustain our interest and attention in that matter, hence causing us to be glued to our screens. As dopamine encourages us to keep doing what we find pleasurable, it drives us to return to this behaviour.

I honestly never thought this was an addiction because everyone around me seemed to be doing the same.

Oops as I was writing I did it again - opened my Instagram and Gmail 🤦‍♀️

I realised the severity of my problem when I started experiencing exhaustion, mind fog and inability to focus on other tasks. I could not make even make time to think about my ambitions or goals, let alone enjoy my hobbies.

This was the kind of autopilot I wanted to break free of.

So, TLDR:

Problem: Digital Media addiction

Effect: Short term happiness, Long-term sadness - Reduced quality of life (physically and mentally), Wasting time

Root Cause: Procrastination, seeking instant gratification

Solution:

Will Dos:

✔️ Aware: Be very mindful of the WHY when I am browsing social media - is it to escape some work or just pure leisure?

If it is used to procrastinate, then I should get back to work. If it is during leisure, monitor the time so that it does not get excessive.

✔️ Plan: Create a schedule with allocated time for tasks in advance and treat them as an absolute deadline. This will reduce the illusion that I have spare time for scrolling.

✔️ Replace: Identify situations or habits that trigger me to use social media and replace it with a captivating activity

I have identified 5 situations for replacement :

Using phone the moment I wake up —> Immediately get ready for a morning exercise (run/gym)
Using phone during breakfast —> Plan my day and goal setting using a physical diary
Listening to music during work to ease boredom —> Focus on finishing task at hand with greater focus and speed using Pomodoro method. This means I can have time for more activities later.
Checking social media every 10 mins out of habit —> Redirect those urge by working on a small project (I have chosen to think about one product I have at home and analysing how eco-friendly the product is)
Using phone before bed —> Place my phone in charging AWAY from bed and REPLACE with a new bedtime hobby (e.g. reading, colouring, drawing)

Will Nots:

❌ Put a hard stop on all my social media apps and digital media usage.

This may create a sense of craving and void, causing me to bounce back to my usual addictive habits after a period of time.

❌ Put a time limit or “lock” the apps.

Once again, these are superficial solutions that does not address the root cause

p.s. This is not the first time I have tried to break free from digital media addiction. However, I want to make this my last <3

Let's see how this goes.

Till then, Have a Good Day!

Komal

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Breaking out of my Autopilot Series - Overcoming digital media addiction

I observed my habits and patterns over the last 2 days, and I noticed I had this addiction which was so strikingly obvious yet so meticulously hidden amongst the hustle of daily life.

It was present at every moment of the day - from the moment I woke up to the time I went to bed.

🕢 The first thing I did when I woke up was to check my friend’s insta stories. It sure gave me a fresh shot of dopamine every morning.

🥞 For breakfast, I consumed an hour of latest affairs, random instagram posts, facebook posts, emails and occasionally an episode of latest Kdrama along with tea and bread.

💻 While doing work, I would have all genres of music playing continuously in the background. There were many times I would finish listening to the entire playlist before I even ended my work.

🚆 Even when I am not doing work, I would catch myself randomly browsing through social media just to get some sort of pleasure. For instance, you would catch me scrolling on my phone while I am walking to the grocery store below my house to shop for some items.

I honestly never thought this was an addiction because everyone around me seemed to be doing the same.

Oops as I was writing I did it again - opened my Instagram and Gmail 🤦‍♀️

I realised the severity of my problem when I started experiencing exhaustion, mind fog and inability to focus on other tasks. I could not make even make time to think about my ambitions or goals, let alone enjoy my hobbies.

This was the kind of autopilot I wanted to break free of.

So, TLDR:

Problem: Digital Media addiction

Effect: Short term happiness, Long-term sadness - Reduced quality of life (physically and mentally), Wasting time

Root Cause: Procrastination, seeking instant gratification

Solution:

Will Dos:

✔️ Aware: Be very mindful of the WHY when I am browsing social media - is it to escape some work or just pure leisure?

If it is used to procrastinate, then I should get back to work. If it is during leisure, monitor the time so that it does not get excessive.

✔️ Plan: Create a schedule with allocated time for tasks in advance and treat them as an absolute deadline. This will reduce the illusion that I have spare time for scrolling.

✔️ Replace: Identify situations or habits that trigger me to use social media and replace it with a captivating activity

I have identified 5 situations for replacement :

Using phone the moment I wake up —> Immediately get ready for a morning exercise (run/gym)

Using phone during breakfast —> Plan my day and goal setting using a physical diary

Listening to music during work to ease boredom —> Focus on finishing task at hand with greater focus and speed using Pomodoro method. This means I can have time for more activities later.

Checking social media every 10 mins out of habit —> Redirect those urge by working on a small project (I have chosen to think about one product I have at home and analysing how eco-friendly the product is)

Using phone before bed —> Place my phone in charging AWAY from bed and REPLACE with a new bedtime hobby (e.g. reading, colouring, drawing)

Will Nots:

❌ Put a hard stop on all my social media apps and digital media usage.

This may create a sense of craving and void, causing me to bounce back to my usual addictive habits after a period of time.

❌ Put a time limit or “lock” the apps.

Once again, these are superficial solutions that does not address the root cause

p.s. This is not the first time I have tried to break free from digital media addiction. However, I want to make this my last <3

Let's see how this goes.

Till then, Have a Good Day!

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