Addicted to SOCIAL MEDIA?

Detaching from your devices can have a big impact on your mental and physical health

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Do you lose hours scrolling on your phone? Find yourself obsessively checking notifications? You're not alone. Women spend on average 81 minutes a day on social media, with users checking Facebook six times a day*. And many of us don't realise the damage device overdosing has on our mental health. Too much screen time has been linked to low self-esteem, depression, anxiety and sleep issues. Want to cut back? Here's how.

Keeping you hooked

Yes, social media is a great way to connect with others, but growing evidence suggests that we can develop a dependency on it, similar to an addiction to alcohol or drugs. 'The big platforms use addictive design something known as the hook method - to capture your time and attention, explains digital wellbeing coach Katie Brockhurst**. 'This is done through reward, such as likes and comments, which flood the brain with the reward hormone dopamine.'