5 Easy Tips to Reduce Social Media Clutter

1. Reduce the number of apps

The most straightforward way to declutter social media accounts is to delete any apps that you simply don't like or don't use. You need to think about which social media apps you enjoy using most and which ones you don't.

If it’s not making you happy, or if you're not getting much use out of it, do you really need to keep it around? Can you delete your account and then delete the app?

Not only will this strategy help you learn how to declutter social media accounts, overall, it’s also going to free up some of your precious time, allowing you to focus on the things that you do like most, so you can spend more time in the right areas of your life.

It'll also free up some time away from your phone because it's one less app to be looking at. So think about which ones that you really like to use and get rid of any that you don't.

2. Determine the purpose of each app

My second tip is to decide the purpose for each social media app. So, for example, I have Instagram purely for what it was intended for which is to display aesthetically-pleasing pictures.

I only follow people on there that meet that requirement for me in that they provide motivation and some nice aesthetics on things that I'm actually interested in such as home design.

On Facebook, I tend to follow friends and family members because most of them are on there. I don't tend to join many groups or community pages. I just like to keep it quite simple.

And when it comes to TikTok, I try to use that as more of a community base, where I follow lots of musicians that I like and other interesting people so I can feel a sense of community.

In essence, just make sure that the apps that you're keeping around have a clear purpose so you're duplicating what you see on all of the different apps, which is going to take up more time as you're scrolling through.

3. Unsubscribe or unfollow

My next tip is to unsubscribe or unfollow. This goes for anybody that is not making you feel good, not making you happy, if it's not meeting your purpose for that app. You especially want to unfollow or unsubscribe from anybody that is making you feel uncomfortable, that you don't like anymore, or that is not working for you.

Make sure that you're going through the account you subscribe to or follow regularly, and keep your page relevant to the things that are most important to you. You can also choose to mute different things like stories or posts, so you only see the things you want.

4. Turn off notifications

Tip number four is to turn off all notifications. I have all notifications turned off for all of my apps, so they only show when I open each app, which is exactly how I want it.

It gives me a sense of control, and I can choose when I am engaging with the app, rather than the app telling me that I need to go in all of the time and creating that urgency to look at each notification.

Turning off notifications stops any excess noise that might be happening, and it reduces your phone having lots of notifications displayed all the time, which can calm things down for you.

5. Reduce the time you spend on social media

My final tip is to set a time limit or simply reduce the amount of time that you are spending on social media. It can be so easy to sit there for hours just scrolling through an app, and then you’re left feeling like you've done nothing important with that hour. In other words, you've wasted that time and have not really achieved anything.

If you're getting to that point, it means you are spending too much time on social media, and it's time to reduce it. It could be that you reduce down the number of apps that you have, and that's your way of reducing the time you spend checking them.

Or it could be that you set time limits, as in you're only allowed to scroll for a couple of minutes then you have to put it down because there's nothing of any relevance.

And while you’re working on that, find a way that can help you reduce your social media usage that suits you best; it could be that you are only allowed to look at it once in the morning or once in the evening.

How many times have you been somewhere in a social environment where everybody has been on their phones and not actually engaging in conversation with one another?

You want to try and find more moments of your day where you can be present so you actually have those conversations together, face to face, and with that engagement that you're probably seeking for in all that scrolling that you're doing.

When you do so, you’ll receive that same buzz, that entertainment, from interactions with people right in front of you.

Social media clutter

Now you know the 5 things you can do to reduce social media clutter on your phone and other devices. Free up some really valuable time and create more moments where you can be a bit more present.

What can you do to eliminate the majority of social media clutter in your life? Let me know where you plan to start down below.