How to Stop Checking WhatsApp - 2023?
If you are scared to read the entire article because it looks VERY LONG, this article is meant for you. The whatsapp addiction is apparently becoming more dangerous than other common addictions like tobacco, cigarettes or alcohol.
Updated: June 2023: Practical steps to overcome WhatsApp addiction are given below.
I found myself addicted to twitter and decided to get over that addiction immediately because I found out that it was wasting my valuable time, delaying the things that I must be doing on priority.
I even found out that I've had periodic urge of checking out what people have posted on twitter or whatsapp group. I'd then open the app and keep checking all the updates until the time I found out that I've already wasted a lot of time.
I think I've come up with a definitive guide to getting rid of whatsapp addiction, or for that matter - any type of addiction. I've fixed my twitter addiction by following these pointers and hope you will, too. Because you should.
Step One: The FIRST and THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE.
I'm 100% sure that this is the most critical step in getting over any addiction. If you skip this step and directly jump over to the other ones, nothing else will ever work.
The step is very simple: Acknowledge that you are addicted to facebook / twitter or whatsapp. If you don't acknowledge, you can't get over that addiction ever! Easy, right?
But 99.99% of you will NEVER admit that you're addicted. I wish you the best!
Finding A Better Addiction: Right! You need to feed your brain with an addiction that will help you.
Your brain must be constantly engaged into something that facebook / twitter or whatsapp will look like a distraction from something extremely interesting! Now what could this new addiction be?
There are several choices - and I bet you've never ever imagined that they'd be interesting.
Here are a few examples which you think are extremely boring, but only when you start exploring - you will find them interesting viz. reading books, learning to play a musical instrument, starting a side business, learning to cook (without posting photos of your new dish facebook for recognition of your achievements), learning a new programming language. If nothing works - meditation right at your office desk.
I bet it's super more useful to your own life than checking crappy messages forwarded by people.
Most of the things I mentioned above would look very boring - because you never tried them with the passion of an explorer. But if you ever do - you'll discover an entire new world; that will make you feel fulfilled; which no whatsapp / twitter / facebook can. It's a feeling that you will have to experience to really understand what I'm saying.
This is how you are wasting your own life
If you can't uninstall apps: People are averse to uninstalling the social apps from their phones - because almost everyone thinks that the apps ARE a way to keep up to date with friends. If you can't - why not simply decide a time, say before you go to bed, to check all of these apps ONLY ONCE in a day? I'm sure 99.99% of the times, you won't miss anything important. That's a great tradeoff for feeding our brains with useless motivational messages forwarded from the Internet. Do you agree?
Start a business: Everyone secretly dreams of having their own business and earn lot of money. Why not give it a serious thought and start a small business, part-time? I know you work 9 to 9 and are left with no time; but that's where the first challenge is! Start something that looks impossible and experience how your own belief that 'I've no time' is destroyed.
All of the above is for those who really want to make their life stories interesting for real, and not having to fake it on Facebook or whatsapp. I'm curious to know if this article made sense and if you've decided to do something about it? Else, I've already wasted my time and energy in writing this article; I can't take it back even if I want.
Practical Tips to Stop Checking WhatsApp
Here is a step-by-step plan that can help you overcome WhatsApp addiction:
Self-awareness: The first step is to acknowledge the problem. Consider how much time you are spending on WhatsApp and how it is affecting your daily routine, work, study, relationships, or even your health. Use an app tracker to determine the exact amount of time you spend on WhatsApp daily.
Setting Goals: Decide on a realistic time limit that you want to cut down to initially. For instance, if you're currently using WhatsApp for 5 hours a day, you might want to cut down to 3 hours as an initial goal.
Scheduled Use: Instead of randomly checking WhatsApp throughout the day, set specific times to use the app. This could be in the morning, during lunch break, and in the evening. Start with these scheduled times and then gradually decrease them.
Turning off Notifications: Notifications can be a major distraction and can cause you to spend more time on WhatsApp than intended. Try turning off notifications or at least mute them for certain hours when you want to focus on other tasks.
Activities Replacement: Find other activities to occupy your time and mind. This could be reading, exercise, taking a walk, meditation, learning a new skill, or anything else that interests you. This will not only help distract you from using WhatsApp but also enrich your life in other areas.
Delete WhatsApp: If it's not absolutely necessary for you to have the app, consider deleting it for a while. This could be for a day, a week, or even a month. This will help you to break the habit of constantly checking the app.
Digital Detox: Consider doing a full digital detox, where you spend a day or even a weekend without using any digital devices. This can help you reset your relationship with technology.
Use Technology to Assist You: Use apps that limit screen time or block certain apps during particular times of the day. Examples include Freedom, StayFocusd, or Screen Time on iOS.
Social Support: Inform your friends and family about your decision to limit your WhatsApp usage. This will help them understand why you may not be as responsive as before. They can also provide emotional support and keep you accountable.
Evaluate and Adjust: After a week or two, evaluate your progress. If you've managed to reduce your WhatsApp use, great. If not, don't be too hard on yourself. Identify where you struggled and make necessary adjustments to your plan.
Remember, the goal is not to quit WhatsApp completely (unless you want to) but to create a healthy balance where you are in control, not the app.
It's a gradual process, and every small step counts. Persistence and patience will go a long way.
Replies
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Kaustubh Katdare...forgot to add:
- Immediately like this post - without reading.
- Immediately share it with your Facebook Friends and get likes to feel extremely good.
- Sincerely feel that the above post wasn't for you because you don't have WhatsApp addiction.
- Go check your mobile, there must be someone who wants your immediate attention. Enjoy life.
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Koushal PatelAdding to your note, requesting folks to calculate the amount of time spent on these websites per day, then per month and then per year. The result will blow our mind. And mind it, it is the time we devoted to these stuffs per person!
The time could have been spent in other things as mentioned in the article.
I have also lost a lot of time in these stuffs, and trying to move from spending times on these websites to something more fruitful. -
Kaustubh KatdareNo one will calculate that because no one ever thinks that they are addicted. I've also found out that most of the people don't have anything better to do in their life; for real.
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Ankita KatdareAs mentioned in the post, it is very difficult to acknowledge that one is addicted to their smartphone or Facebook timeline.
And once that is done, it is very tough to continually push yourself to do something that involves "efforts", but doesn't involve "entertainment". Very, very, difficult.
People tend to regard entertainment as a part and parcel of their daily lives. And from that comes the needs to watch YouTube videos or liking random pages on Facebook or reading Tweets from celebrities and politicians.
++ Efforts -- Entertainment = Super productively spent days! -
Satya Swaroop DashThe best thing one can do to get over this issue as you said is to allocate time for things like WhatsApp and Facebook. My suggestion is to switch off notifications from applications and only check them out during these times.
- Morning commute
- Lunch time
- Before bed.
One also has to be very very careful of not engaging in activity. It has happened to every WhatsApp user. Imagine you have somewhere to be at, at a party or meeting and you suddenly receive a chat from a friend. You reply back and you find that the conversation is going on for more time than you expected. You are not ending the conversation thinking that the other person might feel angry. That is the time you have to set your priorities straight and decide whether you want the conversation to continue or stop it. It will be particularly tricky when you are in a WhatsApp group but once you put your foot down remember to stick to it, and not go checking the chat minutes later. -
Anoop Kumar
Only and 100% effective way to get over any addiction.Kaustubh KatdareFinding A Better Addiction: Right! You need to feed your brain with an addiction that will help you.
After spending time on facebook/twitter/whatsapp, you know you are just wasting time better spend on some hobby even if it looks like waste of time.
Join the Facebook group with your hobby rather than staring on other's selfies and status comments.
Join some different the forums of your interest. -
Ankita KatdareLooks like I need to share this post with way too many friends of mine.
Uninstalling the app isn't a good idea as it can be a real life saver when you want to connect with distant friends and relatives. Controlling your own use is what is needed.
I get way too many updates and notifications whenever I switch on my WiFi or Data. It seems in the 12 hours we didn't switch ON the app, the world did nothing but write text messages on WhatsApp. Mostly it is some kind of stupid forwarded message that no one cares about.
Sharing this post right away! 👀 -
Shen MHello guys,
Glad to find your discussion, i found myself addicted to these useless apps, checking day night whats happening and engaging in useless conversations.
I just uninstalled the app, you cant just deactivate data, you'll be attempted to reactivate it and check, its even worst when u have a crush using these apps.
So now that i have some valuable time to invest and it looks like an engineers forum, i want to start an engineering degree, ideally a distance one.
This degree/diploma/certificate will help me boost my career in a tech company (I did a business school but type some web code from time to time)
If anyone have some link and some info it will be very welcome 😀
And finally thank Kaustubh for the article, its a real problem in our society to spend the most valuable thing we have (time) to apps holded by companies who waste lot of money to encourage this addiction -
nagadeep nemurihi guys
Its very good to see your post on all social apps,its becoming disturbance on regular life and if that time is spend on talking to family members and (sports other activities from this activities we can be healthy fit.)
I have also wasted time on this apps.ThankQ so much for sharing this information #-Link-Snipped-#. -
Ankita Katdare
Couldn't agree more this.Shen MI just uninstalled the app, you cant just deactivate data, you'll be attempted to reactivate it and check, its even worst when u have a crush using these apps.
And good for you! Great to see you using your time time productively.
Shen MSo now that i have some valuable time to invest and it looks like an engineers forum, i want to start an engineering degree, ideally a distance one. -
Bhavna kOne can login to quora can start learning knowledge and information...it is a question answer website..as what's app doesn't provide us knowledge..but using quota one can learn new things, have discussions for advice's about anything in ur life....
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Ankita Katdare#-Link-Snipped-# That's the truth. You really need to spend time doing productive things. Else nothing gets achieved at the end of the day. From what I understand of this discussion. You have two choices. You always have two choices. What you pick decides what kind of day you'll lead.
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Debasmita Banerjee
I would add stack exchange definitely with quora!!Bhavna kOne can login to quora can start learning knowledge and information...it is a question answer website..as what's app doesn't provide us knowledge..but using quota one can learn new things, have discussions for advice's about anything in ur life....
In stack exchange one can gather as much info as they want in detail but yeah,it's kinda more strict in their terms. But its handy as well, like quora it comes in smartphone application format as well. -
ybrahimI am reading this exactly one year after you have posted this. I wish I had read this an year back and saved a thousand hours. Although these social medias do let us share some positive information, there is a lot of character it has killed in a human. These days people have forgotten to interact with another person socially, but good at texting in the social media. Things that donot suit the general sense of humor can be easily shared in the group and sarcastically hurt others.. So many more. I too got over this Whatsapp addiction recently.
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Kaustubh KatdareQuora can kill serious time as well. I strongly feel all the people should start maintaining balance between Internet and serious physical activities like sports, dance, zumba, running etc.
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ravishankar.yellapragadaMy suggestion is use the old mobile phones which doesn't support these apps.
I am doing the same before getting addicted to them.
Thankyou -
Saandeep SreerambatlaAddiction, I got addicted to facebook for 1 month , and i decided to get over it.
How?
I check facebook after coming to office and will stay on it for a long time. (switching windows) ofcourse.
What i do now is , I have many unanswered questions about the work i am doing so i think about that question while coming and i will search for the answer . That helped me not to open facebook as first thing ! Now i am approximately spending 10 mins on Facebook and all other social networks.!
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