Here’s how to see exactly how much of your life you waste on Instagram and Facebook

In the rankings of social media apps, it's undeniable that Instagram and Facebook are the top two. You tell yourself you'll start doing work at 6pm, but before you know it you've spent hours scrolling away, it's 6.03pm and now you'll have to wait till 7pm. It's the best way of procrastinating. But how much of your day is actually spent scrolling through social media? How can you find your screen time?

Apple has all the answers – in the form of the new "screen time" feature, that allows users to see how long they spend on all their apps and phone features – and you can even set limits and downtime for your app usage.

Here's how to find screen time, what it does and how to use it.

How can you find screen time?

The feature is part of the new iOS 12 update. All you have to do is update your phone.

Then go to settings and "screen time" should be an option there.

How do you use screen time?

Once there, make sure the feature is enabled.

Then you are ready to see the hellish truth that is your social media usage.

Prepare yourself to be ashamed when you find out exactly how many hours a day you are stalking people on Instagram.

The feature tells you how long you have spent looking at your screen that day, and how this breaks down into categories – such as social networking, productivity, reading, creativity and other.

It breaks down your screen time by each individual app too.

It tells you how many times you pick up your phone, what times of day you pick up your phone the most, how many notifications you've had, and where your notifications come from.

You can also schedule downtime. On here you select times of day, and what apps are available for you to use at that time. For example, you could schedule downtime from Instagram when you should be doing work, with the hope it'll stop you getting distracted. You're effectively blocking yourself.

You can also set limits for apps. This allows you to set how much time per day you are allowed on each app before it blocks you out. So if you spend hours on end trying to get matches on Tinder, or trying to work out the Bumble algorithm – Apple can help you quit the habit.

Content restrictions can also be put in place to block certain content such as some apps, offensive content and location services.

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