5 Tips to break social media addiction in kids

In 2017, it was estimated that 210 million people worldwide suffered from internet and social media addiction. In 2019, the world moved online, and the thin line between being engaged and being addicted disappeared. Children and teenagers are even more prone to be social media dependent than adults since they were suddenly segregated from their friends. Here are 5 handy tips on how to deal with it.  

Turn off the notifications  
It is difficult to detach a child from social media when the phone lights up or makes an inviting noise every minute with new notifications. So turn these off from the parental controls, or ask your teen to do it themselves. At the same time, fix a time every day when they can check on the number of ‘likes’ and read comments on a post.  

No smartphones, tablets and laptops after bedtime 
This is difficult to implement with grown children and teens, but you can start. Most people, including adults like to sleep with their phones, scrolling through social media posts in bed, damaging eyes and spine, and wreaking havoc on sleep schedules. Keep your kids’ gadgets in another room for better effect. To encourage teens, help them look for interesting ‘away’ status messages and fun stickers indicating they are sleeping. It will make them popular even when they are not online!  

No smartphone before breakfast  
Many of us reach for our smartphone first thing in the morning. Children copy this behaviour. Restrain yourselves and they will follow suit. Not allowing gadgets till they have finished getting ready for the day will help them value the time they get on social media, and they will learn to prioritise what’s important.  

No gadgets at mealtime  
This is a simple but effective approach to curbing social media addiction. Get kids to concentrate on food and on talking at the table instead of fiddling with their phone.  

Phone calls  
Encourage children to call friends and talk instead of using a messenger for hours. It will make social media less important for them and help them forge better friendships.