I Have A Social Media Addiction

Thanks for waiting! This topic is very personal to me and I think needs more awareness than ever.
Also thank you for 20K! ❤️ I would love to do a Q&A video once I reach 50K :D I appreciate you all for subscribing, it means a lot to me!
I ended up with this video after trashing a few I was almost done with in the past 4-5 months. Perfectionism is tough 😭 I hope to be back soon with more videos & shorts :D
Helpful Tips to Reduce Social Media by Cy
The first step is noticing how much you use social media, and noticing something is not healthy about it (length of time, how it makes you feel, etc).
The next step is wanting to change and not letting yourself forget. I wrote down “I don’t want to be on social media all day” and put it all over my room and on my phone. Manifestation and all that.
I removed all socials off the front page of my phone, put it in a folder, or removed it entirely from my phone in the case of TikTok (which I found the hardest to stop).
After a few weeks free from social media, I allowed myself to only use social media on desktop computer or laptop while setting loud annoying timers to stop.
On the computer, I try to also make the content I see healthier. If a video comes up that makes me feel bad or jealous or sad or unable to stop watching, I press “dislike.” My whole feed changed its tone from this.
I forgive myself when I fall back into old patterns and use social media in an unhealthy way. I try to look for a reason why I am doing that (or a trigger). Whether I find one or not, I usually do all these steps all over again if I notice that happening.
You may also want to look into a therapist who can help guide you on your journey as well.
Helpful Tools
Note: None of these tools or resources are sponsored recommendations, just stuff that actually helped me, even it was a little bit.
Screenzen: App that reduces screentime
Opal: App that reduces screentime
Tiny Decisions: App that rolls a random wheel. I used it to give myself that “random rewards” feeling social media gives me, but I can roll the wheel myself when I take a break.
Resources & Sources:
What is Social Media Addiction? www.healthline.com/health/soc...
4 Approaches to Social Media Addiction hbr.org/2018/10/i-ran-4-exper... Conditioning / Skinner’s Box: www.simplypsychology.org/oper...
WHAT I USE:
Apple iPad Pro 12.9”: amzn.to/3J9x1VY
Apple Pencil: amzn.to/3mCcYI9
Blue Yeti Microphone: amzn.to/3Jv5AYh
WHAT I USED TO USE (CHEAPER):
Wacom Intuos Pro: amzn.to/3ZV3B4M
Wacom Bamboo: amzn.to/3Fe3g5k
SOCIAL MEDIA (haha…)
2nd Channel: @cypopps2
Instagram: / cypopps
TikTok: / cypopps
Thanks for watching and I hope you like my new improved character model! Did you notice it?? :o
❤ Cy
#socialmedia #animation #cypopps #cartoon

[@PietaPotato]

Thank you for talking about this! Social media addiction is way too normalized these days

[@Cypopps]

Thank you for watching! ❤️

[@KittenChan-zh4pk]

@@Cypoppsno

[@KittenChan-zh4pk]

@@Cypoppstoo scared to respond go cry😂

[@inkapppie]

@@KittenChan-zh4pk Please don't be a bully for no reason.

[@evarosario7393]

@@KittenChan-zh4pkbro she ain’t doing anything to you?

[@heroslippy6666]

Pro tip, replace the bad addiction with a not so bad addiction. I binge read a lot of manga on my phone. Not great but certainly a lot better than social media in my opinion.

[@enayy619]

This is actually a nice tip

[@indrimza]

2 years ago, I used to frequently go on instagram a lot. Nowadays whenever I'm on my phone, its either KZbin or webtoon.

[@gluttonousmaximus9048]

The narration seems much less humor-heavy and fast-paced than a lot of storytime animators we've seen. Is that a conscious decision? It's really refreshing, especially when it's primarily about a mental journey!

[@Cypopps]

It was pretty conscious I think, this topic is serious to me and I couldn’t really think of jokes that wouldn’t make light of it :0 it really is a struggle! & thanks for asking

[@shortcxke]

u perfectly explained the addictive nature of these reels/shorts :’)) the way social media has it set makes it so easy to get pulled into an endless stream of these videos, they definitely did it on purpose tbhh

[@Cypopps]

Ty!! And yeah it’s scary sometimes :0 !!

[@kanzy-hx3oc]

I spent my entire childhood with iPad, sometimes i was playing with my friends, however sometimes i was addicted to games. I'd like that nowadays every child could spend their time with friends and books, not just with games or internet

[@KeiichiMaebara-fu9cl]

But what about those ppl who do good stuff and habits on their phones?

[@qtfy]

@@KeiichiMaebara-fu9cl i could pick up on my google docs right now or premiere and do some pretty creative and cool stuff that would add up to my life or i could just keep doing random things and scrolling through 5 different social medias at once the last option is just so much more addictive and attracting, i don't think most people have the discipline to do the latter, specially as a child

[@inkapppie]

IPad kids. 😔

[@SmashTheOni]

Thank you for making this. This is a topic I'm surprised I haven't heard anyone really talk about considering how widespread of an issue it's becoming. I recently became conscious of how often I was looking at Twitter in spite of the fact that I wasn't really enjoying it. Steps I took were removing all shortcuts to Twitter on my phone and computer, and I also stopped taking my phone to bed with me. It's helped, but I still have a long way to go. I'm hoping you'll be able to overcome your addiction soon too!

[@spookypumkin6387]

That calendar anecdote reminds me of this one episode of Gumball where Gumball and Darwin decide to waste time on the internet and the moment they start scrolling, literal hours pass. It scares me knowing that’s kind of accurate to real life.

[@Benjymations]

I used to be in the same situation as you! Social media can make you feel distracted and less sociable with real-life friends. But in my case, I decided to uninstall all the social media applications on my phone to avoid any type of addiction and anxiety. I hope my 1st year of University will be interesting to the professors and other lessons, and start using my phone for necessary use only.

[@jayd1os400]

I came across your channel a while back, being an autistic person myself, I watched a couple of videos and i was like "Holy Cow" there is someone i can relate to. Cy, you are the best❤

[@OrbinnShirt]

Man, I was *wayyy* too dependent on my computer as a child and as a pre-teen. It did come with a few positives, but it still developed into a pretty harmful habit, physically and mentally. I eventually learned to let go and tried to interact more with the world outside of my screen, and I can fortunately say that I'm definitely doing better now! Hopefully, with the amount of kids who have unrestricted access to technology, most of them can also learn to reap its benefits without venturing too far.

[@alhexadecimal7353]

behavioral addiction is a thing that needs to be talked about more often imo. definitely gives me a bit to think about in terms of my own behaviors also congrats on 20k :)

[@matheusquintinodasilva2274]

One thing that really helped me control addictive behaviors was practicing sports when i was a kid, and I've realized how important that is in the adulthood. (from someone diagnosed with autism and ADHD)

[@l00tur]

You know what’s going to be awesome, when you hone your animation skills to the point where you get your character to fluid animations. I can tell it’s getting better since the first episode. I’m sure you’ve dealt with some negativity and that should speak to your ability to handle situations like that, very cool. Keep the content coming for as long as possible, but don’t burn yourself out!

[@luminousbug5585]

she uses rig animation, it would be really hard to switch to frame by frame drawing animation

[@l00tur]

@@luminousbug5585thanks for the clarification.

[@artisticallyautistic]

Wow your art has changed quite a lot since your last video

[@Cypopps]

Yes! I always try to improve :>

[@artisticallyautistic]

It is always good to do that

[@ma11221]

These things are super tied up in every unique individual's entire life story! To everyone: good luck on your personal journey of self-care and true self-love.

[@qtfy]

my problem is that my life is kind of blank without my computer i have friends and hobbies but somehow they just aren't able to add up to my day, so i'll just keep scrolling to kill time and boredom specially because my friends aren't the type to just hang out every week, we laugh and talk a lot on our group but ever since we parted our ways when we got into high schools (each of us got into different schools) we haven't really seen each other in person anymore, not frequently, just like once 2 months. i also don't have a good relationship with my family so i can't just talk to them through the day so i end up going to the internet to talk to people also i abandoned most of my hobbies because they just feel a little boring now?? i don't know, i'm still reading a lot and i'm picking up on sewing but there is just so much stuff i'm just not doing, projects abandoned etc

[@Sonicstyle2008-ud4ju]

This feels so real for me. I really have an addiction to video games that I can't break.

[@Daniele63]

Tiktok and shorts type content was invented to be addictive. The problem with this addiction is that it gives you a shorter attention span, because you're used to everything being 20 seconds and then going to the next thing. Which could make something like watching a movie a boring chore because it doesn't stimulate you non stop. I usually don't watch shorts but one night i saw a recommendation that was a youtube short and then found myself watching the next shorts and so on until 5 AM, i could just not stop. So the next day i decided to not watch them again (1 or 2 okay, not 200 in a row) so that i don't lose sanity. Instead i watch longer videos on subjects that i find interesting. nice video btw

[@_vallee_5190]

I had a lot of problems growing up, I think that manifested itself in a escape methods and for me that escape method was sitting in my room and dissociating, and at age 14 when I began using the internet provided me with the perfect place for that. No getting in fights with dad, no getting beat up by him, just sit in my room. It sounds stupid but just being able to be in my room in peace and quiet feels like a privilege.

[@deroskar]

This is great. I got ads diagnosed and i believe im (aspergers) autistic. Ever since i got my first device as a kid i knew that i had a problem with social media and games. I felt incredibly guilty after using media for a few hours not realising how time passed by. I felt like i couldnt just quit it althought i saw others at my age not having problems continuing their daily live. It seemed like it didt make them as happy to watch videos or do games. "The box box with the screen that i have to carry everywhere to function..." I feel this so hard. Also i have a problem with others using therir phones to socialise and not getting addicted to it .

[@JesseJokesStoryTime]

I used to be addicted to video games but nowadays I only play about 1-2 hours per week. All I needed was a new goal that I wanted to reach to keep me busy

[@acuddle]

Every day I used to tweet for 2 hours every morning on my computer, but now I ceased... because I realize the time I lost trying to spread my ideas on Twitter was not even worth the effort. Meanwhile, I'm addicted to videos because it's how I spend rest time (and I rest a lot because gender dysphoria sapping lots of mental energy), and daydreaming with music videos even counts as stimming to me !

[@roronoazoro8789]

I never thought I'll relate that much to someone

[@mayhoinville9687]

🎀 It really feels like my brain entirely turns off and the day just ends when I go on KZbin Shorts, the endless scrolling is incredibly addictive. The wave of discomfort when I stop scrolling is like I just ran a marathon but in my brain.

[@Lady_of_Winds]

Damn hi my fellow autist with social media addiction. 12 hours was my average on days where i didnt need to leave the house for school/college - 7 hours was my average on these weekdays. I am doing a bit better now since I left Instagram (I grew enough hate for that platform and a lot of the internet) and joined Tumblr and Reddit. Still addicted of course but now it is manageable. Old Social Media is really a blessing istg. The key is that my addiction is to the likes and notifications. I happen to have a reputation in a small niche and when i joined Tumblr i created a HUGE posting queue and all I need to do is to keep the queue alive no matter how. But no algorithm will punish me for having a weekly instead of a daily queue and all 460 non-bot followers see my posts :) and if my queue runs out of content? I dont allow that. I reblog old posts to make it artificially longer and i space the posting time out. As long as my queue is good my mental health is too can i can relax better.

[@dwightdeisenhower53]

Found about this channel the life on the spectrum book and I love this channel so much that I subbed with my 3 alt accounts

[@Cypopps]

thank you so much!!

[@dwightdeisenhower53]

@@Cypopps yw

[@kirjom2505]

Thank you, I needed this! I also have a bad Internet and social media addiction!

[@WaDaYT]

great video! I am super addicted to my phone and yeah it sucks but I've been able to use it less and less as time goes on

[@Sparklewolfgirl67]

I have screen time turned off because I felt so disappointed seeing how much time I wasted but I don’t really have anything else, I draw, write and am currently making some clay cats but it’s boring without watching or listening to a video and I loose sense of time. While around people I’m very anxious of how I’m being perceived by them and if they made assumptions about me I also can’t find the words to properly socialize

[@gabrielferreiracosta6976]

I recently discovered your channel and I'm really enjoying your videos, hugs from Brazil

[@somebodyelseathome]

Good video . I like the Zelda reference on the wall. With TikTok I don’t use it because it seems to just be nothing but videos that auto play. Too much stimulation . Also the logo bothers my eyes .

[@randomidiot1232]

What if I just like watching KZbin, writing stories, animating, and socializing on the internet? I use the internet a lot, and I should use it less, but at least I'm not doing anything too harmful. I am still taking care of myself and making sure to socialize with friends in real life too.

[@fr13nds393]

I love your videos so much! Just about yesterday. I love how you talk so much about different topics that we can relate to and understand that others have gone through the same stuff we have… it helps us become used to what may be happening and help us in general

[@geckoo9190]

Yea well schools give a very simplistic explanation for addiction, the first thing that has to be considered is that addictions aren't diseases, but symptoms, which basically means that there is an underlying reason why people is susceptible to get addicted to something. The strategy of schools is to scare you out of drugs, which ironically makes them more enticing to people with certain social issues, but the point is that if you want to defeat an addiction, its going to be way easier if you find the underlying cause and actually that is the real problem that you have to solve.

[@SapphiresStuff]

I love you cypopps!!! ❤❤

[@Cypopps]

❤️❤️❤️

[@ManchesterUtdz]

This channel comforts me.

[@Milo-hp9fw]

I have ADHD and electronics stimulate my brain enough but not enough to overstimulate me. It is so addictive because it's the only thong that does this for me.

[@Milo-hp9fw]

*thing

[@cakeferdays]

Oh wow I never even thought what I did could be an addiction I have a lot to think about Thanks for making this video

[@JMandJJ7797]

Ah so that explains a lot. I have behavioral addiction to online too but it's not just social media. It could be taking to peeps on Discord, watching KZbin videos or streams on Twitch, and scrolling through Twitter/Reddit. Hell at work when things are not busy or I am on break I've been usually on my Shounen Jump app to read manga while not working. To the point where I don't get up, walk, sometimes not sleeping, shower, play video games, or brush my teeth. There are some productive stuff I do online sometimes like creative writing when I get down to it but I still find myself absorbed into it and I thought it was due to my ADHD and I got new medicine to help treat it, Guanfacine, though I am still/don't feel more focused and that could be I have an addiction and not my ADHD that's doing that. Or maybe I am just incredibly lazy.

[@cometisV2]

I need to be offline more often even though I don't really spend much time with social media unless you count discord and youtube

[@umcarinhaaleatorio8601]

Hello! I also have a social media addiction but interestingly I found my emotional state affects how much I use it. Like if I am feeling happy I will probaly do something else other than look at my phone, however if I am sad or angry I will see myself spending hours scrolling on TikTok or KZbin. Honestly it feels like a constant struggle because I completely understand I am missing out on life but will be doing the exact same thing even if I know its bad.

[@agoogleaccount5207]

What I do on KZbin instead of scrolling through shorts is using the home page and manually clicking on what short I want, then I go off after watching it, once you get to the end of the homepage shorts list, you need to refresh it. I haven’t noticed myself doing this for over 30 minutes at once, so maybe it helps. But I still watch the long form content for hours, which I need to fix. I think it also throws off the algorithm in some way since some things that I like will stop showing up after I watch them, maybe this happens when using shorts normally, but I wouldn’t know.

[@Itz_Andrea_YT]

I literally can't remember the last 2 years of my life and probably it is because of my phone addiction. Ouch...

[@willow_aster]

I love how much you put in the description with all the resources!

[@xdeadxxeyes]

THE QUEEN HAS POSTED 🩷🩷

[@WinterEcho]

thanku for sharing this

[@Someone-dy5ui]

As an autistic person, I have a noble privilege of brushing this addiction off and calling it my hyperfixation.

[@diandradeeke]

You have such a nice way of presenting yourself, talking and reasoning. I have a similar problem with music. Yesterday, i listened to music for 7 hours

[@TrebleKnight]

Just found your channel! I really enjoy your art style. But, yeah you gotta be careful with social media. The scroll can take a toll!

[@alpha9775]

I see a clear upgrade in your animation!

[@joshuaespinoza3959]

I love Cypops and her content

[@edonumoiv8978]

Welcome back my friend, and have a great day. 🥰

[@TheDanishGuyReviews]

I'm on KZbin when I really want to be reading. I'm on my phone when l really want to be working on a project. Telling myself "At least it's not a health damaging addiction like so many other people" has become an excuse. I think the only thing that has saved me from complete addiction so far is setting daily goals. I have a plan today, like yesterday. And I'll follow it, get things done, and be proud of that. And then l'll write it down so l can remember it later.

[@yoni-in-BHAM]

For me - and I don't know if this is an addiction or not - my online time is to keep up with the latest news in the sciences, world and local history, space engineering, medical research on my particular interest, and many other things. I love to learn, but I do take breaks (if I remember, lol) and also watch funny animal vids. 😸

[@DDog.]

This is helpful. Thank you.

[@Lesopal]

this explains greatly why I can't save money, I'm like "wowzers what happened to all my money? I put my entire paycheck in my savings where it go?" I wondered as I transferred 100 out of my savings for another plushie/food/bag/shirt/VIRTUAL LOOTBOX YEEAHHH

[@SOPHSOPH.]

DA QUEEN IS BAAAACK

[@Alienrun]

Curious...how much does putting written messages and loud alarms help you with internet addiction? I was thinking of trying it myself but was unsure to what degree that's a good idea...I have autism too so both of those things seem like pretty big commitments (loud noises and perma room change) but also seem like they are worth trying if they actually work! (Left this shorter comment in case you don't read the bigger one...there's a section there about meditation on the bigger comment if you haven't tried that but aside from that you can just skim it if you'd perfer...thanks for reading and answering if you can!) :D

[@the3dluxe53]

Thanks for talking about this. I think it’s something a lot of us relate to but don’t talk about because it’s the norm.

[@Gabriel-qq5zn]

I love your videos!

[@Cypopps]

Thank you so much!! :D ❤️

[@Rainbow3ntity]

This is a really good video and the animation is really good too aldought i prefer the old animation stile but this is still great

[@kirjom2505]

I have news: I got rid off completely social media. Facebook, instagram, tiktok, discord etc. I realized that social media worsened my mental health and while social media can have benefits, it's not for everyone. I still use tumblr but only to look at pics related to my special interests and I don't publish anything in there. I left social media 2 days ago and I already feel alive again:)

[@KogetaiKid]

The internet was a mistake

[@zuhaibali7573]

I always checked on social media too much sometimes, but deep downtown cannot just do that, I prefer to upload my vids and pics such as my work in it But this is what I’ve done, uploaded my work in social media

[@WhosDnisify]

good video, interesting topic, the arm and head movements were a bit off, bone animation etc. but the mouth talking is great 👌👌 keep it up

[@cauldron938]

Thank god i never downloaded tiktok. From the start i knew It would mess up my attention span so i didn't. Then KZbin added shorts, And i was out for the count. Lost to the addiction. I'd say nowdays everyone has an addiction to social media to some degree. And for the next few years It Will stay like this for a loooooong time. As long as we have iPad kids, haha.

[@RTOF]

Sometimes I get glad that I never got interested in TikTok but then I remember I'd prefer watching short memes over educational vids

[@sixkicksfightertricks949]

What an insane coincidence. I have mild autism. I copied beyond birthday's deductive abilities to unlock the universe through math, sacrificing sleep for info. 1 evening felt like 90 years at a mental hospital. Taoism and Christianity might be connected, if time really is spherical. 💜🌌✝️☯️✝️

[@okjeffy6581]

The legend has returned.

[@IlPlayer_animeted]

1:17 the most dark thing that can happend is forgot your existence.

[@DannyboyO1]

Yeah. I spend a LOT of time on it. I spent years fighting depression and found out my problem was largely migraines. So I was doing the wrong treatment. Social media was bite-sized nuggets of *something*, where I didn't have to hold a lot of thoughts at once to engage, and write a little thoughtful comment when I felt like it. And, yeah, I don't remember a lot of that time. Because those nuggets don't connect to the rest of my life, so there's just... nothing to index. It helped in that it let me be "active", and engaged with *something* in the world, so that I was, for those hours, avoiding dwelling on a very painful existence. It's gotten better. I get more choice about how to live, and what to do. Unfortunately, the treatment for my migraines also pushes me to sleep a lot, so I'm not gaining much quantity of life, but the quality is better.

[@Mizsanity]

My partner convinced me to delete Twitter a while ago and it was a drastic improvement on my mental health. I'm still struggling to stay off other forms of media but I think slowly I'm getting better. KZbin is my final boss and sometime I hope to look to KZbin for exclusively education and not get sucked into a rabbit hole of drama and video essays and gaming.

[@Mapper_Space]

My parents say I'm addicted to electronics, but honestly I don't care how much I use them. Sure I use them for 7+ hours, but only because my parents let me. And the amount I use them doesn't seem to affect me.

[@MacDonellCashRicher]

Yeah, I should probably backpedal with...actually most of those behaviours. While I do have a tendency to play too many games (I played through 140 hours of P5 Royal in 10 days during the pandemic), I don't think I play as much anymore. I often find the notion of playing a game exhausting. Much like almost everything, where I even remotely have to think. Sadly, this not only includes games but also things like homework, drawing, writing, or talking. Most creative or productive tasks. So all I ever do really is read, watch videos, or sleep. Since I'm already having trouble managing my behaviour with those things, I just generally stay away from alcohol.

[@HoloTheDrunk]

Social media should always be a means to an end; if it becomes the goal, it's already unhealthy. On that note, I believe the vast majority of social media is evil, and that's by design. It's not by some unfortunate twist of fate that they're extremely addictive and keep people from achieving what they actually want in life; it's because it makes the companies behind them more money.

[@Tylerbomb864]

The new avatar looks like of weird, but I can get used to it.

[@SuperRandoms.]

I love her vids

[@Glauco.gloster2007]

I have unistalled tik tok from my mom's phones for save her from the cringe.

[@personwhocantthinkofaname7083]

Yay new cypops vid❤

[@untilyourbreathingstopsforever]

Ironically enough the social media app that I just can't seem to get under control is KZbin. That one has like, hacked my brain somehow I swear.

[@The_Plurp_Cube]

Im addicted to animation and food

[@dwightdeisenhower53]

This is why my motto is: TikTok is a cesspool of evil

[@USER_S4V4NT]

one of the reasons i wont download that chinese spyware of an app or dating apps, ill be honest i spend alot more time than i intend scrolling through youtube and iv been trying to go outside work out and talk to people more and going to sleep on time, same can be said for games too, alot of games nowadays feel like their way more grindy than they need to be to increase playtime

[@Kingdoms734]

Good job a new video

[@Bellamightbeme]

New video yay

[@Cypopps]

❤️❤️!!

[@CasualDjungelskogBeliever]

Bro taught me a new word today... W day 😂

[@DrAngelKins]

I think everyone is addicted to social media...

[@LOAT_Official]

Ya ur right

[@SOPHSOPH.]

I ain't bro I'm so cool

[@stef-ruvx]

How’s it possible to spend that many hours on mobile, do you have a job? Or is KZbin your job and does that explain the upload schedule?

[@1805movie]

I'm glad I only have a laptop, and a flip phone. I'm already addicted to the internet as is, so why take it everywhere with me?

[@mikeytim1402]

I mostly use KZbin for so many hours

[@seeincn4044]

while i don't doubt you, i feel losing time is a symptom of a much larger issue. i assume you've talked to a mental health doctor right?

[@seeincn4044]

also i do not mean therapist, i mean doctor.

[@SoftTehCustomer]

What do you use to animate?

[@ching-hohunkin6893]

True 👍!

[@ellabella9228]

Get a flip phone for a year. I did amd it worked. I am currently back to a smart phone temporarily. (Since i learned that 1 flip phones look cooler and 2 even eith my new found discipline i do waste one or two hours sometimes on the internet.

[@pondsauceome9712]

This is why I deleted tik tok

[@ryanmcmillin5313]

KZbin is my favorite website

[@mystery_1155]

speedrun addiction \o/

[@stormthecre8r]

This is definitely perfect timing for me to realize this. I say this because I just got out of a social media addiction from Instagram. I wanted to come back to Instagram to post content again, but it was very unwelcoming (as always because of its algorithm). At a point in my life I would think that, how would my life be like without having social media as an experiment? I logged off from IG (it’s been about 2 weeks now) and it’s helping me heal my mental health again. It does hurt a little bit because my art and hard work thrives off an audience. I will come back soon, just not now. At least under a different account, because this’ll be my 3rd account I transfer to lol. I love your videos as always Cy. They’re always very in-Cy-tful lmao ❤

[@iq1540]

‏‪0:24‬‏ I am obsessed with educational videos and unfortunately I do not know English

[@dwightdeisenhower53]

Might you be from the Boston area?