Social media - instagram & tiktok

Hpy

Hpy

Fapstronaut
It is not the regular web browsing that is my trigger. It is also not really the apps like reddit and twitter where naked content is allowed. I struggle especially with apps such as instagram and tiktok. They are always the cause of a relapse, always. And when they’re not the cause of a relapse, they’re the first step.

How do you guys handle this? A few weeks back I found out about this ‘restricted mode’ on tiktok and it has been a lifesaver so far. All I am seeing now are vids of people I do not know that are not explicit in any way. The problem with insta is that it revolves around pictures of girls I know… That even is the start of my whole PMO addiction that started like 10 years ago. I see a triggering pic of someone I know? Boom, its over… The simplest solution would probably be to just delete or remove insta temporarily, but that just feels weird. Like if I am disconnecting myself as well from what friends post etc. Anyone familiar with all this?
 
It's not weird to delete your social media accounts. I've done it at the beginning of my reboot and it felt like the best thing ever. It will feel weird first, but you'll adjust very quickly.

I furthermore suggest to get a good p blocker and block access to explicit content, (other) social media, news sites, gif sites, meme sites, reddit, and basically everything that can be a gateway to PMO. If you do this for at least 90 days, it will be much easier to get through your reboot.
 
I agree with removing social media. I used to tell myself I kept them in order to stay connected, but at the end of the day that was just me rationalizing. It’s 2024 and there is more than one way to stay connected. Removing these apps doesn’t mean you can’t go back to them. I’m pretty sure in 90 days time, heck, in one years time, Ig and TikTok will still be around. If not them then whatever the next social media app fad.
 
How much of the app do you really connect on? Like if you are just looking at pictures of what others are doing but not interacting with it, that’s not connection. You can people watch at the mall.

if it’s dms, you could just use the meta messenger apps.
 
I was having a really similar problem with Reddit and Twitter. It was the cause of my relapse so many times that I decided to give up on social media altogether. Now, I use Qustodio on all my devices. It can limit app time and block certain website altogether. It's like $100 bucks a year, but the free version still has pretty good functionality. Don't remember exactly what. I gave the account to a friend who manages the pw and email so I can't turn it off myself. Keeps me off all those trigger sites. The longest streaks I've had have been because that system was working really well. Would recommend.
 
Hpy said:
It is not the regular web browsing that is my trigger. It is also not really the apps like reddit and twitter where naked content is allowed. I struggle especially with apps such as instagram and tiktok. They are always the cause of a relapse, always. And when they’re not the cause of a relapse, they’re the first step.

How do you guys handle this? A few weeks back I found out about this ‘restricted mode’ on tiktok and it has been a lifesaver so far. All I am seeing now are vids of people I do not know that are not explicit in any way. The problem with insta is that it revolves around pictures of girls I know… That even is the start of my whole PMO addiction that started like 10 years ago. I see a triggering pic of someone I know? Boom, its over… The simplest solution would probably be to just delete or remove insta temporarily, but that just feels weird. Like if I am disconnecting myself as well from what friends post etc. Anyone familiar with all this?
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Delete the apps dude..... like..... what else is there to say?? Delete the apps and talk with your friends through whatsapp. Like we all do as adults. Social media sucks!!!!! So happy I deleted those freaking worthless apps years ago.
 
Yeah social media sucks man everywhere explicit content even in YouTube lol btw I don't use social media only WhatsApp for educational purposes and to chat with friends whenever I'm bored I install reddit to Stop boredom after a while of use boom my mind go for autopilot mode to search NSFW content and another trigger in YT is shorts, comment's, etc... So in order to stop I'm using blockers I now know why am I keep failing is because of easy access to stop access I am using blocker x, and detoxify,
 
Muthushinigami said:
Yeah social media sucks man everywhere explicit content even in YouTube lol btw I don't use social media only WhatsApp for educational purposes and to chat with friends whenever I'm bored I install reddit to Stop boredom after a while of use boom my mind go for autopilot mode to search NSFW content and another trigger in YT is shorts, comment's, etc... So in order to stop I'm using blockers I now know why am I keep failing is because of easy access to stop access I am using blocker x, and detoxify,
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Boredom is your weakness. Nothing wrong with it, and no shame brother. But as I read it, boredom is the source of a lot of relapses. Ever tried to replace the phone use with something else? My trick is to put my phone physically away and pick up a book or go for a walk or something. Urges have decreased substantially.
 
"The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less."

One experience in the near past really changed my perspective on this. I plugged myself off completely for two days. No phone, no music, no laptop, nothing, no electronic devices at all. Just "normal" activites like cooking, sports or going for a walk in nature.

What I experienced was eye-opening and beautiful. Something I didn`t feel since my childhood to be honest. Even though I really had to fight my brain dealing with the boredom and the FOMO, and the lack of instant gratification, etc... these two days where some of the most peaceful and rewarding days I had in a while. My confidence also went up dramatically. I`m looking forward to extend the time not using any electronics.

Remember, just because everbody does something, it is not automatically good or healthy. Who or what are those big Silicon Valley corporations to tell us free minds how to spend our time, our greatest good in life?

Just a thought, maybe you could try this. All the best!
 
MikeSilva said:
Boredom is your weakness. Nothing wrong with it, and no shame brother. But as I read it, boredom is the source of a lot of relapses. Ever tried to replace the phone use with something else? My trick is to put my phone physically away and pick up a book or go for a walk or something. Urges have decreased substantially.
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There's no shame bruh I'm enjoying my nofap journey it's easy bruhh once u focus on ur vision it's like everything magical btw I don't count the days I'm still don't know my current streaks lol anyway good on ur journey
 
I had a similar struggle—it felt weird to just cut off those apps completely, like I was missing out on what everyone was up to.
One thing that actually helped me was setting up some stricter filters and limiting how much time I spent on the apps. I even thought about having a social media agency tweak what I see, so my feed would mostly show safe stuff and fewer potential triggers. It kind of keeps you in the loop without the constant risk of slipping up.
 
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people still ask me about my snap and instagram, I deleted my snap 2 months ago, and haven't been on insta for months.

In my opinion, social media in 2024 is a joke, were so connected and we can call anyone anytime anywhere, why would you need tweets, stories, shorts, and constant updates, ur brain isnt made for this

there are a lot of books that are not worth reading, let alone social media posts.

The only reason I would get back to social media is for finding ppl with similar interests, otherwise no, ur probably better off without it
 
Same as most people here; get rid of your social media apps for the time being, or put your phone in a restricted mode.

I changed my accessibility settings and let my wife set the password to prevent me from downloading apps or visiting adult websites.

It doesn’t have to be for the rest of your life, but long enough that you can reset. If you re-download and find it’s still a problem, time to say goodbye again.
 
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