What’s the last thing you saw before going to sleep last night? Almost 70% of people answered this question by naming Facebook, Twitter, or other social media platforms. Some of them admitted to checking their social media feed four times in the hour before sleep-time.
This behavior has far-reaching consequences, most of whom are bad. When we stay glued to our smartphone screens during the day, we ignore the people around us and make them feel neglected. When we repeat this behavior at night, we expose ourselves to sleep problems.

Yet another harmful effect of social media addiction is stress. Countless studies have drawn a straight line between social media usage and mental health problems such as stress, anxiety, and depression. That means that the time we spend scrolling on our Facebook wall is making us feel miserable.

With this in mind, let’s look at five apps that can cure our social media addiction:

#1: Social Fever
Available for Android devices, Social Fever keeps track of the time you spend on social media. It has a user-friendly interface with graphs that detail the amount of time you spend scrolling through individual apps. You’re also allowed to set an alarm to keep your digital time in check. This way, it presents a clear picture of your addiction to the virtual world.

#2: Offtime
In contrast to Social Fever which only tracks the time you spend on social media, Offtime lets you break away from the virtual world altogether. You can use this app to create profiles that will block down incoming notifications, texts, and calls. There’s also the option of setting exceptions for your loved ones or generating a custom auto-reply to let them know when you’ll be back online

#3: QualityTime
Do you feel you’re spending far too much time on social media? QualityTime will let you know whether your fear is genuine or unfounded. It prepares daily, hourly, and monthly reports of the time you spend on individual apps. You also have the option to set custom alerts like ‘’It’s time” or “Take a Break” which will remind you when your social media usage has crossed the safe limit.

#4: ClearLock
At the time of writing, ClearLock is a paid app that is only available for Android devices. It gives your productivity a shot in the arm by letting you shut down all those apps which you feel are keeping you from achieving your goals. Once you’ve selected the apps you want to block, it will ask you for how long do you wish them to stop troubling you, and then you’ll be good to go.

#5: Flipd: Distraction Blocker
Have you tried all the apps mentioned above and found that none of them work for you? Then it’s time you opt for Flipd. While it does track time you spend on social media and also prepares regular reports of the same, this app also does something far more drastic.

It shuts down your phone altogether for a limited time and gives no way of going back. You cannot hack or cheat your way to go to your Facebook during that time. As long as you don’t uninstall the app, it will make sure that your social media account remains locked for the pre-determined period. It will be as if you’ve placed your UVC light inside a locker and misplaced the key.

Conclusion
In addition to interfering with our sleep patterns, disturbing our mental health, and harming our relationships with our loved ones, social media addiction is also known to cause a slump in academic performance. It’s time, therefore, to stop reading about UV light bulbs at your phone and take control of our lives.