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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Lifestyle
Celina Ribeiro

Easy wins: delete your social media apps and claw back precious days of your life

Social media use a problem, but not ready to sign off forever? Taking apps off your phone can help moderate your use
Social media use a problem, but not ready to sign off forever? Taking apps off your phone can help moderate your use Illustration: Guardian Design

There’s something about that red dot. The ping. That little shudder of your phone. All those tiny, quiet gestures which together, form a cacophony, making your phone screech: “Something happened. Look at me! Right now! And then again! And sometime later! But still soon! Really soon! OK? OK?”

Australians in 2020 spent, on average, an hour and 46 minutes a day on social media. That, according to my rudimentary calculations, is equivalent to more than 26 days a year on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, et al. This, I’d suggest, is too many days.

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