Want to Be Happier in Retirement? Plan to Limit TV and Social Media

Have you ever spent your work week daydreaming about everything you’re going to accomplish on the weekend? But when Saturday arrives, you just sit around wasting time on your phone.

It happens to all of us. For some reason, when we finally get free time, we don’t always feel motivated to take advantage of it.

And unfortunately, many retirees fall into this trap.

Recent studies have shown that those 55 and older are the heaviest consumers of TV and social media.¹ It seems that instead of using their freed-up schedule to pursue truly satisfying activities, they end up just killing time.

In addition to squandering a resource you can’t make more of, spending excessive time in front of a screen leads to unhappiness. In fact, researchers have found a direct correlation between screen time (TV, tablet, or phone) and lower satisfaction with life.² Some contributing factors include the dissatisfaction that comes from comparing your life to what you see online, and an increasing Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) that can lead to compulsive checking on your social media feeds.

Since excessive phone use is so easy to fall into (this is what social apps are designed to do) avoiding it is something that requires purposeful planning and action.

Joe Casey, a retirement coach, says that many of his clients come to him during their working years because they don’t want their lives turning out like older people they know—people whose personalities have changed as they’ve gone down internet rabbit holes or absorbed the conspiracies presented on cable TV.

But simply vowing to quit your phone cold turkey probably won’t work. You need to replace that scrolling time with something equally engaging.

Casey recommends thinking about retirement like you’re enrolling in a new school. You choose classes and build a curriculum around key areas like health, relationships, learning, and fun. Then you pursue activities in each of these categories, whether it’s a sport or a craft.

It’s also important to remember that the things you’re doing with your free time today are likely the things you will be doing with your free time in retirement. So now is the time to begin cultivating the kind of life you’ll want to pursue.

Your financial plan for retirement is just one component of your life plan for your post-work years. Therefore, your goal should not simply be to accumulate a set amount of money, but also to have the resources and relationships in place to live a life that’s meaningful and rewarding.

Your trusted advisor is there to help you plan the details for accomplishing your dream.