I was a social media addict, and days seem longer now that I've cut back – Helen Martin


I felt I was addicted because I might have spent three hours a day or more to keep up with tweets.
It’s not surprising as a controversial columnist that I get a few challenges and critiques which are totally acceptable. It’s only really rude and nasty responders I block.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdI’ve even made some Twitter “pals” who I don’t actually know but we can agree or disagree nicely and follow each other. We really do build up a Twitter “friendship”.
There are some people who seem to be on Twitter from morning until night, many of whom are interesting and campaigning one way or another, or enjoying their chats. And they’re pleasant too.
But for me, my days felt shorter. It’s easy to keep up with new tweets, almost like getting gripped by a novel, then checking the time to realise two hours have passed, when I clicked on for just a quick update.
Now my days feel longer. I sleep longer too because I go to bed, read a couple of chapters of a book, turn the lights out and close my eyes, rather than spending another hour or more on Twitter.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdI no longer have warnings popping up on my phone saying how many hours I’ve spent. (I thought that was just a normal piece of info, not a warning.) And I imagine next month’s bill might be lower.
Social media might be fun – but it certainly has downsides.
A message from the Editor:
Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.
If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.