CHECKLIST
Get Informed
REVIEW PRIVACY AND PLATFORM SETTINGS
Different devices (Samsung, Apple and Xbox) and Social Platforms (Facebook, Tiktok etc) have different settings and privacy sections.
Keepitreal NZ provides a list, review each and adjust settings accordingly
TURN OFF NOTIFICATIONS
Red is a trigger color that instantly draws our attention. Reclaim your time by turning off notifications.
TAKE CONTROL
Go to Settings > Notifications, or swipe left on any incoming notification and hit Manage > Turn Off
REMOVE TOXIC APPS
Remove apps that profit off of addiction, distraction, outrage, polarization, and misinformation.
TAKE CONTROL
Remove Facebook → Message friends with Signal
Remove TikTok → Send video messages by direct text or with Marco Polo
Remove Snapchat → Get creative in Text instead
Remove Instagram → Use VSCO for photography
DOWNLOAD HELPFUL TOOLS
While we can’t solve tech with more tech, there are some tools out there that can help. Here’s a short list (see our longer list .
TAKE CONTROL
Get more sleep and remove blue light → Flux
Track your screen time & change habits → For iOS and Android
Reduce distractions → News Feed Eradicator
Stay focused on your goals → Flipd
Practice mindfulness → Insight Timer
ELIMINATE OUTRAGE FROM YOUR DIET
We vote with our clicks. Don't support sites that pollute our cultural environment with vitriol via clickbait and outrage.
TAKE CONTROL
Unfollow outrage-chasing voices on Twitter → Use iUnfollow to clean up your Following. Start fresh and intentionally choose the voices you expose yourself to
Unfollow outrage-driven Facebook Groups → Check your Groups > Settings > Following
Remove sharply polarized media outlets from your news feed → Both MSNBC & FOXNews
FOLLOW VOICES YOU DISAGREE WITH
Social media serves us content we already agree with to keep us online longer, eroding our ability to engage with people who don’t share our views. To solve problems from poverty to racism to climate change, we have to come together and expose ourselves to different perspectives.
TAKE CONTROL
Check news sites whose perspectives you disagree with → AllSides gives readers a cross-partisan view of world events covered by the media, and sustains itself on a consciously created hybrid revenue model to avoid bias and clickbait incentives
BE COMPASSIONATE
Social media profits off hate and anger because it generates more engagement. Let’s fight back with compassion.
TAKE CONTROL
Pause → Remember there’s a real person behind the screen: Don’t be so quick to unfollow or publicly argue with someone who posts something you disagree with
Be compassionate → Try a private message to ask why they feel that way, with genuine curiosity and a desire to understand
SET BOUNDARIES
We use our phones and news feeds from the moment we wake up, to falling asleep, and even in the bathroom.
TAKE CONTROL
Clear your morning & evenings → Set clear bounded blocks of time without technology
Device-free dinners → Play a game where the first person to check their device does the dishes
Create a shared charging station at home → Charge your family's phones away from bedrooms overnight
Buy a separate alarm clock → Wake up without getting sucked into your phone first thing in the morning
FULLY DISCONNECT 1 DAY PER WEEK
Disconnecting can be a powerful way to reconnect with yourself and your loved ones. It’s not only good for you — collectively we can reduce time spent on social media platforms by 15%, impacting bottom lines.
TAKE CONTROL
Pick a date and let your friends and family know you’ll be offline → Or better yet, invite them to join you
REMEMBER THE POSITIVE
If you receive 99 positive comments on a post and 1 negative comment, which do you focus on? Our survival-biased brains tend to focus on the negative, even after we turn away from our tech.
TAKE CONTROL
Take screenshots of the positive messages you receive to store in a folder on your phone → Let the rest go. Tech warps how our brains receive feedback, and we can fight back by remembering the positive
SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM
Don’t force your local newspaper to play social media’s clickbait game. Support your local newspaper directly by paying for a subscription so that we can remain the customer, not the product. Democracy doesn’t work without healthy journalism.
TAKE CONTROL
-
Upgrade your membership on platforms that provide meaningful content