RICK JACKSON: I've switched off social media and gone cold turkey

I was finding it was taking over my life. Head down, thumb constantly scrolling though update after update. I knew more about other peoples lives than my own.

It was also affecting how I felt. Some posts would annoy me, some would anger me.

One friend who we always made the effort to visit up north but didn’t reciprocate, posted a photo of themselves on the seafront at Lee-on-the-Solent, five minutes from our house, but didn’t contact us.

The final straw came when I found myself getting annoyed when scrolling Facebook. Annoyed at my children for needing my attention while I checked other people’s updates.

It was becoming a bad habit, checking Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, posting, liking, commenting. Some of my friends live out their whole lives on social media.

On the positive side, I really enjoy the local nostalgia pages and if you have an interest or hobby, some of the groups are brilliant, but I was always on them.

So last Sunday I deleted all the apps from my mobile, the device I viewed them all from. I’ve kept my accounts open, but can now only view them from work.

The temptation to post a cute photo of the kids for others to enjoy has been strong and I know it will be tough, but I’ve decided if people want to see my children doing cute things, they can come and see them in the flesh.

If people want to contact me, they can still text or, and this is really out there, pick up the phone and speak to me, or even pay me a visit? Strange I know.

I don’t need to be in constant communication with everyone, I don’t need 24-hour notifications on news, sport and travel. I do not need to know the hovercraft is running five minutes late.

Notifications off, apps deleted, phone is quiet and my head can now settle down to more important things, like engaging more with my children.

IMAGINE THIS: BUMBLING BORIS AS PM

Did the PM get Boris a one-way ticket to Afghanistan?

The man who sold us the notion that leaving the EU was a good idea and pledged to lie under a bulldozer if they dared start to build a third runway at Heathrow was thousands of miles away when MPs voted on it. But that’s what many love about Boris, stumbling from one PR disaster to another.

He’s unconventional, unpolished and everything David Cameron wasn’t, apart from Eton-educated.

Could you see the day when Boris is PM and his right hand man is Jacob Rees-Mogg? Some may runs to the hills for cover, others may rejoice.

As in America, it seems we are fed up with the groomed, fake white-smiled politician.

I’M HALF THE MAN I WAS AND READY FOR MY CRUISE

Monday’s weigh-in at Slimming World showed I’ve now lost just over two stones since I started dieting in April.

It’s easy to follow; you basically cut out fat, sugar and bread but still eat potatoes, pasta and rice.

My Actifry has been my saving grace. I cook chillis, curries and even lamb tagines in it from scratch with no oil. Twenty-five minutes later, voila!

I’ve had to throw away old clothes that are too big and I now run 10k twice a week. I can even do 50 ‘proper’ press-ups which I’ve never been able to do before.

My only issue now is keeping that weight off once and for all.

We go on our summer holidays next week. Two weeks on a cruise ship. Apparently it has a large gym!