Social media can be a convenient way to extend your network, staying in touch with your grandma, or sharing photos of your new puppy. Nevertheless, social media can be temible for your health. It’s our use of it that’s out of control.

British anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar developed the idea that 150 people is the maximum number of meaningful connections anyone can have. You may have 800 friends on Wechat, but we’re not connecting with them in person. Your QQ connections may be vast, but how many of them do you have meaningful interactions with?

If you’re using social media to feel more connected, a recent study published in the American Joumal of Health Promotion suggests that it’s not working, and it an also contribute to unfavorable connections and even depression. Positive interactions on social media don’t help people feel happier. Negative interactions, on the other hand, bring more feelings of sadness. The same goes for comparison, which social media encourages. Another study, published by the American Psychological Association, shows comparing yourself to others via social media also has negative effects, leading to symptoms of depression.

Reaching for your cell phone as a mental break is also a bad idea. Research by Rutgers University compared participants in the midst of completing a task who took a break with their cell phones, with paper and pencils, and who took no break at all. Those who used their cell phones during their break solved 22% fewer problems and took 19% longer to complete their tasks than those under the other two conditions.

So how should you manage your social media usage?

First, know your time and purposes of use. Use the tracking function on your device to find out how much you’re using it and what you’re using it for. After this, get away from your device unless you have to use it. As tough as it might be, turn off and tune into the world around you.

Then, be in charge of your device, rather than let it be in charge of you. Your phone s rings or vibrations don’t mean you must respond to them. Remind yourself that you’re in charge, not your device or the people on the other end of it who’ve just contacted you.

Finally, consider using your device as a relationship builder. Use your apps to find your friends and make your dinner reservation so you can catch up face-to-face your favorite restaurant, where you’ll keep your phone out of sight.

When you’re in control of your digital consumption, social media becomes a tool to enrich your life and not a distraction (分心) that makes you feel miserable.

While most coffee shops offer free Wi-Fi connections to get more customers, Offline Club, a pop-up cafe in Amsterdam, offers a different connection where a Wi-Fi signal is unnecessary. Upon entering, its members leave their devices behind, grab a coffee, and enjoy a 90s’ atmosphere.

Ilya Kneppelhout, who started the Offline Club, said that the club is for people overwhelmed by their busy lives and constant notifications, according to Inside Edition. He added that their members want to cut down on their social media and screen time and focus on in-person connections — a simple idea, but participants enjoy it.

One of their members said, “being with the club makes you feel present in a way you didn’t expect”. “It felt a bit like travelling in time and made me feel nostalgic (怀旧) about the way bars and cafes used to be because nowadays, those are places we’re only going to with friends and people we already know and spend time doing digital things like work,” another member added.

The founders believe this concept could work in other cities, too. Kneppelhout stated that they want to spread the idea worldwide. “Right now, we’re getting together with a franchising concept, and we hope to have offline detox events in the entire world for people to reconnect,” he said.

Meanwhile, the internet and computers are deeply integrated into our lives. Being addicted to the internet can hurt you in different ways, both in body and emotions. Given this, the digital detox provided by the Offline Club could be helpful for individuals who feel they spend too much time online. It’s a chance to reduce stress and focus more on talking to people. It also helps stop us from becoming too reliant on technology. Ultimately, a digital detox is about stepping back to connect with what really matters.

In 1970, before he became a blues legend, Stevie Ray Vaughan was working as a dishwasher in Dallas. One of his jobs was cleaning out the trash bin. To do it, Vaughan had to stand on some large wooden barrels, which were for the kitchen crew to dump hot grease(油脂). One day, while he was cleaning, the top of a barrel suddenly gave and he fell in.

Luckily for Vaughan, it had been a while since the last grease was dumped, so the stuff had cooled and he was able to safely climb out of the barrel. However, the next day, Vaughan’s boss fired him for breaking the barrel. The young man could have been severely injured, and he lost his job for his trouble.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. National surveys suggest that burns, cuts, falls and other injuries are extremely common in the fast food industry, where underpaid people are placed under intense pressure to work quickly.

Then there’s wage theft — employers trying to avoid paying workers what they’re legally entitled to. According to the Economic Policy Institute, federal and state agencies recovered $933 million for victims of wage theft in 2012 alone and that was just for the workers who successfully pursued their cases.

People with power — employers, managers and owners of big and small businesses — quite often do mistreat their workers. And they do it because there are no consequences to fear and workers often can’t leave a job without putting their livelihood at risk. So they dare not speak out against the unfair treatment.

So we also need social institutions — a universal basic income, a wage allowance, a job guarantee, truly universal health care and more — that give workers an alternative to depend on in the market for income. And we need a strong labor movement that can credibly punish employers if they don’t give workers a fair share and press the government to enforce the law.