How to Get Yourself Out of a Facebook Coma

It seems like everyone and their mother is on Facebook. The social media platform itself is a great concept: a place to update your family and friends about your life through updates and photos, as well as catch up with family and friends, and even contact old friends we’ve lost touch with. Simple, yet so convenient, right? It can be a little TOO convenient – especially when we have a lot of things to do, but somehow get sucked into it. Many of us have all been there at one point or another: getting sucked into Facebook, looking at old friends’ pictures and updates, leading us to look at other peoples’ updates, taking the latest BuzzFeed quiz, and random news articles posted by our pals. We get into what we would call a “Facebook coma.”  While it’s not a official diagnosis, it’s a pretty universal one: many people have gone into the coma at one point – or several, even.

Here’s how to get out of a Facebook coma:

– Recognize the signs. It’s completely normal to spend less than an hour checking your timeline, wishing someone a Happy Birthday and maybe even Facebook chatting, but if you find yourself doing it for hours on end, you’re doing a little more than “checking Facebook” – you’re falling into the deep hole that is a Facebook coma!

– Start questioning what it is you are doing. Facebook is for keeping tabs on old friends and family, seeing photos of events you probably couldn’t travel to or from events you’ve attended and would like to relive. However, if you find yourself comparing your life to your Facebook friends’ whose profiles make it look like they are the most successful and happy people and it makes you feel down and out, stop and step away.

– Give up Facebook for a while – or for good. If you can’t stop checking Facebook or have to do that first thing in the morning and throughout the day, it might be time for a Facebook intervention. Go without it for a few days or a specific amount of time (no, 1 hour doesn’t count) and see how it goes. If you really need to go cold turkey and cut it out, do it.

– Get off your computer and schedule time to see your friends offline. Many of us use Facebook to keep updated with our friends’ lives. Here’s an idea: turn off your computer, pick up the phone and schedule an in-person hangout! Catch up for real.

– Limit your Facebook time. If you can go only 5-10 minutes checking it once a day, more power to you. Some folks who tend to get into Facebook comas often do it for several hours to the point of being unproductive or having it interfere with life. Give yourself a time limit and adhere to it.

(Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)