Liking posts on Twitter and Instagram before my day really started became routine; it was a way to catch up with what the world had been up to for the six or seven hours I was asleep. What news did I miss? What were my friends doing? You know, the usual. Some call that FOMO (fear of missing out), but I'd say it's just a bad habit. I'd even go as far as calling it an addiction. I feel the need to be glued to my phone, particularly social-media apps, as if my brain is wired to open them every chance I get.

Recently though, it's all become too much -- especially on Twitter, where oftentimes the first thing I'd see were tweets about politics and how the world is basically falling apart. It wasn't just Trump's questionable tweets, either, or people's reactions to them, but also things like the discussions around the Las Vegas Route 91 mass shooting. (Instagram is less toxic, because my feed is made up mostly of friends at bars, fashion and sports.)

Don't get me wrong: I love Twitter and Instagram, and I might even say the same about Facebook if I had an account (but probably not). However, that negativity eventually took a toll on me mentally. I noticed that by the time I got to the Engadget office in the morning, I was already in a bad mood. Things that were out of my control sometimes made it hard to focus on my work. And who wants to start the day like that?

That's why I decided to impose a social media diet on myself, in hopes of sparing me a few hours of dealing with the world's problems. No more Twitter or Instagram until after I'm in the office, at my desk and I've had time to settle into the day. Instead, I spend my commute playing games on my Nintendo Switch or reading a book.