The average adult spends 6 hours and 58 minutes staring at a screen.
It’s almost embarrassing to admit, but I used to be a high contributor to that statistic.
I used to wake up every morning, roll over, and grab my phone like it was some kind of lifeline. I’d scroll through Instagram, check my emails, maybe skim a few headlines, and end up watching random videos. Without realising it, I was getting a flood of other people’s lives, other people’s goals, and endless noise before even starting my own day. But I’d convinced myself it was harmless — until it wasn’t.
Before I start, I’m not trying to say all social media is the devil and you need to give up it completely. In fact, if you take the steps I'm about to show you, and change the way you use social media, it might change your life too.
Funny Little Videos
After a long day, we usually unwind by lying back, watching TV, or scrolling through social media, watching reels and videos to keep us entertained and "switch off". Hours slip away, until it's time for bed.
Then the cycle starts all over: wake up, work, scroll, repeat.
One day, as you’re scrolling, a post catches your eye: that chick from school, Jessica, is out in Bali again, snorkelling in blue ass water. Last month, she was in Paris, the month before, Italy.
You're not actually jealous of Jessica’s life, you didn’t even know her that well! But seeing her travels makes you question your choices, even if only for a second. Why aren't you travelling? Why aren't you doing more?
You start to feel like you're not enough.
So you distract yourself, by watching some funny little videos. Letting your thumb do the work while your brain goes numb.
Scrolling can feel harmless at first, but each time we escape like this, we drift a little further from what truly matters to us. Bit by bit, we lose track of our own goals, our own dreams, swallowed up by a screen and other people’s highlight reels.
And when you start to lose touch with what matters to you, something has to change.
A Poor Diet
Junk food is designed to be addictive, with just the right mix of sugar, salt, and fat to trigger dopamine in our brains, making us crave it again and again. But, when you binge on junk food, it makes you feel sick, you don’t feel energised, and it ruins the rest of your day.
The same thing happens with junk content, each scroll feels like munching on empty calories—a quick hit, but never satisfying.
The content I consumed was no different from a poor diet.
My biggest issue was with instagram, I would log on and scroll for a bit, then I would see a cute girl doing something stupid. I would watch. Slowly over time, the algorithm started feeding me more and more "suggestive" posts. And, as a single dude it became hard (pun not intended) to pull away from scrolling. I would catch myself in a trance, then snap out of it only to feel completely empty inside.
Social media is like a highly intelligent fast food restaurant, they know what you like and the algorithms serve up a personalised buffet of content that keeps us hooked.
That's why it's important to train these algorithms to serve us up some healthy content or we run the risk of becoming mentally obese.
Create Your Diet Plan
The truth is, if you don’t choose what you consume, the algorithm will choose for you. So, I started treating my content like a personal diet plan—one that I felt nourished my mind and aligned with my goals.
Here’s exactly how I made the shift:
Go Clean
I did a full clean-up of my feed. I went through my following list and asked myself: Does this person inspire me, educate me, or bring value to my life?
I set up some ground rules. I decided I would only consume content that aligned with my goals in three areas: health, wealth, and relationships. If a post didn’t connect to one of these, I’d scroll past—or unfollow.
This meant removing some accounts I had followed for years, even friends. For example, I unfollowed some old school mates who constantly shared vacation photos or snapshots of their “perfect lives.” It wasn’t personal, I just realised their content didn’t add anything valuable to my life.
I started to actively seek out content that expanded my perspective and added new skills. For example, I subscribed to YouTube channels and newsletters that offered real, practical advice for building a meaningful life and business. I also followed experts in fields I wanted to improve in.
The 5 Voice Rule
I applied the idea that “you become the sum of the five people you spend the most time with.” On social media, this meant being mindful of the five main voices or influences I allowed into my mind each day. By regularly reviewing these influences, I could make sure they still aligned with my values and goals.
Gradually, my social media consumption became more intentional. Instead of the usual time-waste, scrolling became a source of daily inspiration, not distraction. Every time I logged off, I felt I’d gained something—an insight, a skill, or a bit of inspiration that nudged me toward my own goals.
But there was still a problem… I was still spending my all my time consuming.
And I slowly found myself slipping back into old habits.
Cutting Back
I started experimenting with cutting back.
I used the screen-time feature on my phone to limit my time on each app.
I downloaded website blockers on my computer.
And then I went further, I deleted some accounts entirely. Goodbye facebook and snapchat. I even removed Instagram from my phone and have only used it a handful of times in the last 10 months.
At first, it might be hard. You might feel like you are "missing out" or that you're not up-to-date with the latest trends, news, or even memes. Friends might mention things, and you feel out of the loop. But in reality, none of that actually matters. Your real friends will stay in touch, and who really cares what someone you spoke to three times in high school is up to?
If you do this, a few things will happen:
You'll find you have created time in your day that you never knew you had.
You'll start to become more motivated and educated.
So what do you do now with this extra time and all this new knowledge?
Well, if we go back to the diet analogy, there's really only one way to lose weight. You need to burn more than you consume.
It’s about putting that energy back into something real.
Consume to create.
The Switch
I knew I wanted to give more of myself to the world than I took from it.
For years, I’d been dreaming of creating something of my own, like sharing my thoughts through writing or creating YouTube videos. But instead of starting, I would distract myself any time I had free, or even more worse, I would disguise my procrastination through productive learning. I would watch content on “how to start on YouTube,” going from one tutorial to another.
But watching wasn’t doing. Watching was keeping me safe in the idea of learning rather than risking failure through action.
As I’m writing this, there’s a kid next door, who’s learning to ride a bike. He’s not learning by watching tutorials, he’s learning through doing it, falling, getting up, and trying again. No amount of tutorial videos or advice can replace actual practice. If this little kid can risk falling to learn, why can’t I risk failing to create?
We keep filling our minds with tips and tricks but doing nothing to apply them.
Knowledge without action isn’t progress. It’s just distraction.
The Lean Mind
I’ve finally committed to doing rather than endlessly learning.
I set a goal. Create, even if it’s imperfect. Now, I’m learning to replace overconsumption with creation, reminding myself that consuming too much—even of good content—can weigh me down, just like overeating the healthiest food can.
Each piece of content I consume has a purpose. Every moment on my phone has meaning because I’m either learning something to apply or not looking at my phone at all, instead resting in ways that truly restore me. Real rest isn’t sitting on the couch, scrolling through feeds for hours—it’s stepping away, spending time outdoors, finding flow in a task, and connecting with real people. It’s keeping a calm mind, which isn’t possible if we’re always feeding it junk.
Takeaways
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: be mindful of what you consume.
And don’t worry if you have days where you end up binge-watching random content again—I’m not immune to slipping back into old habits either. Some days, I still find myself going down a rabbit hole of “stupid videos,” just like before. It’s all part of the process, and I try not to be too hard on myself when it happens.
The idea is to be aware of what you’re watching, so you can be more intentional with what you let into your life and limit what drains you.
And if you dream of creating something, don’t just consume. Actually f*cking start. Take action on what you know, learn as you go, and soon enough, you’ll be the person others are watching on social media, living your best life.
Thank you for reading. I hope this story inspires you to take control of your consumption and to start creating rather than scrolling.
– Karl