How to avoid social media distractions when studying

STUDY TIP: Focus is the key when studying. You just need your mind and study materials. No gadgets, no internet, no music. Just you and your diligent self!

There are too many distractions for students and if you're weak, it is so easy to fall into these traps. If you're using gadgets when you study and you have an internet connection, sometimes it is very tempting to log into your social media and entertainment apps.

You'd listen to Spotify or watch Youtube videos. Then, you'd tell yourself that you'll check your Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for only five minutes. And then, that 5 minutes turns into 20 minutes, then into 1 hour or more! Who are you kidding? And by the time you finish browsing (if you'll ever finish), you'll realize that you already wasted a big chunk of your time chatting with your friends, commenting on posts, liking some pictures, reading a few articles and whatnots. If you're a medical student reading this article, I bet that you're supposed to be studying right now, but you're here in the internet world procrastinating and getting distracted. Hah!

I have also been a victim of this nasty habit for some time. So, what did I do to avoid those distractions? I removed the cause of my distraction. I uninstalled all my social media apps (except Instagram; I'm biased, haha, but I'll tell you why next time). With no apps at my fingertips, I don't have an easy access to social media, making it difficult for me to log in by using only the internet browser. And because it's 'difficult,' I'd rather not check my accounts. So far, it's effective!

You could do what I did if you want, but if it sounds too much to do, there are still other options. If you have a tremendous amount of self-control, you could simply just not open your social media apps or you could disconnect your gadget from the internet. You can also download apps which can lockout your social media accounts for a certain number of hours while you're studying.

But here's what I want you to understand:
Tweeting while you're studying is NOT studying. Checking your Facebook while you're studying is NOT studying. Posting a picture on Instagram while you're studying is NOT studying. Listening to music while you're studying is NOT studying. Don't make your foolish self believe that when you do those things while you're studying, you are multitasking. There are researches out there which show us that multitasking does not work, in case you do not know (or maybe you know, but you still pretend to not know because you're doing "multitasking"). Studying requires our full attention; it means to devote ourselves to study and according to Meriam-Webster dictionary, devote means "give all or a large part of one's time or resources to (study)."

Make your studies your priority because your "student life" is way more important than your "social media life." ALWAYS! But if you don't believe it, try prioritizing your "social media life" over your studies and let's see what would happen. Dare?