7 Tips on How to Quit Social Media ...

The hardest but most important step on how to quit social media is to delete your social media accounts! Take a day to save important photos linked to your accounts on to your computer because once your account is de-activated for more than 30 days your photos will permanently vanish – and you definitely don’t want to lose all those memories. Also, privately message or "inbox" close friends your phone number if you don’t already have their contact information so you can keep in touch. Once you’ve done the aforementioned you should be ready to delete your accounts.

One of the reasons social media is so addicting is because it’s very accessible. Deleting your apps will significantly reduce the temptation to re-activate your accounts. Remember, out of sight, out of mind!

We all have those people on our friends list who are our best friends online but you can’t remember the last time you went for coffee... if you’ve ever even been to coffee with them. If you’re finding you have friends on your list who seem to have things in common with you online, invite them out for drinks or a movie. If it turns out that you don’t have many things in common with them outside of social media then you really haven’t lost anything. But, if the two of you hit it off then you’ve made a new friend who you can poke in real life and one less reason to be on social networking sites!

Find yourself bored on the bus? Rather than mindlessly scrolling through your newsfeed to an abundance of repetitive Vines and memes, download a free news app like National Geographic or CNN from your phone’s app store. World events aren’t your thing? Download the free Kobo books app and browse millions of free and affordable books instead!

Have you ever had thoughts that exceeded more than 140 characters? Then you’re most likely two years old or older. A great way to let everything out without limiting yourself or offending anyone else is by keeping a diary. It’s private, safe, you don’t have to censor yourself and you can write as much as you want whenever you want without worrying about who will see.

Scrapbooking is becoming a lost art which is unfortunate since the benefits of scrapbooking are many! First, the time it takes to put a scrapbook together keeps your mind off of your long-lost social media accounts. Plus, the effort and love it takes to create one makes your photos even more special. And finally, inviting your friends over to see the final result is a great way to bond as you laugh (and cry) over snapped photos and much more intimate than tagging them online.

According to a poll done by Marketing Charts, bit.ly, Americans aged between 18-64 spend an average of 3.2 hours A DAY on social networking sites - in other words, over 200 minutes per day! Think about what you could do with those 200 extra minutes instead? Rather than liking, commenting, scrolling, uploading, hashtaging and the whole bit, why not go for a run, give yourself a well deserved mani-pedi or finish a couple chapters from the current book you’re reading?

Social media websites aren’t a complete time sucker – they can help you stay in touch with friends and family who live far away, can you keep you updated on major world events and help you network with local people who share the same profession as you. However, there’s a big, beautiful world waiting for you outside of these networking sites. So take a break from your accounts and find out what other hobbies and interests you have! You’ll thank yourself later. What are the reasons that attract you to social media websites and how do you find a balance between these websites and your everyday life?