Overcoming social media addiction

Bangladesh is among the top three countries where people are most active on Facebook. It is preceded respectively by India and the Philippines, according to a report released by Facebook's parent company Meta. The report said, people of India, the Philippines and Bangladesh use the social media platform the most. And younger people in our country are spending an excessive amount of time on Facebook. It has become an addiction for many. The limitless scrolling only increases the people's addiction. This is a matter of great concern.

To reduce social media usage, people should establish clear goals such as setting time limits, avoiding social media during work, study, or family time and disabling non-essential notifications to reduce the urge to check social media constantly. In addition, we should take breaks from social media, unfollow accounts or pages that contribute to negative feelings and pursue other hobbies such as sports, reading, etc. This can help one get out of this vicious cycle. The government should initiate awareness campaigns to educate the public about the potential harms of excessive social media use It should also include digital literacy and responsible social media use in school curriculums, implement regulations that promote responsible usage of social media platforms, encourage the development and promotion of parental control tools that allow the parents to monitor and restrict their children's social media usage. The government should also allocate resources to support addiction treatment and counselling programmes for the individuals struggling with social media addiction.

Sirazi Shahjahan,

Malibagh, Dhaka,

mshaju001@gmail.com