Over winter break, I noticed my screen time on my phone took a jump from 3 hours max spread across different apps throughout the day to at least 7 hours a day on Instagram. I was in a deep rot, and I knew this couldn’t continue in the following semester. Not only had my attention span been whittled to no longer than a few seconds, I also noticed my vocabulary changing to a more chronically online speak. This is why on January 15th, I deleted Instagram.
I felt the loss hard for the first few days, as I checked my phone every few minutes hoping to get that sweet gratification from my infinite scroll. Fortunately, as time went on and classes got busier, I missed Instagram less. Here are some of the changes in my life since deleting Instagram:
- Stretching
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Every day, rather than spend time scrolling through a million reels that I will forget within 6 seconds, I take the time to stretch out my muscles. While I usually do this before/after working out, I’ve also started including it on my off days because it gives me a chance to reflect on my day, figure out what’s still bothering me, and be in touch with my body. Through this, I have also improved my posture (which significantly decreased my back pain), and become more conscious in my day-to-day life.
- Less “I want to” and more “I will”
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I have saved thousands of reels with recipes, travel locations, and workout plans that I plan on coming back to, but realistically I never will. Since deleting Instagram, I’ve also tried to switch my mindset from saying I want to do something at some unspecified time in the future, to setting a day and time that I will try something. Because of this change, I’ve learned how to make a caramel macchiato at home, made cupcakes using pancake flour, and learned how to do a bunch of new exercises.
- Longer attention span
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It’s hard to exactly define how my attention span has changed, but I have noticed some differences. For example, while watching TV, I don’t feel the need to have a secondary device also blaring information at me, which has done wonders for my overstimulation. I also am able to take notes and listen to a lecture without feeling the need to be on my phone as well. This change may look different for everyone, but I have felt much less distracted in the past few weeks.
- More connected to people around me
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It’s ironic that as soon as I let go of social media, I feel more connected to those around me. But since deleting Instagram, I spend time on my phone talking to my family and my friends rather than spending them reels that barely mean anything. I get more updates about what my loved ones are up to, like my roommate who just made alfredo sauce despite her lactose intolerance and is now suffering from tummy hurt.
- Less cat videos
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There are cons with deleting Instagram. The biggest one is my loss of cat videos. About ½ of my discover page was cute animals, mostly cats, and watching those videos was usually the most peaceful part of my day. While I still find peace in other parts of my day, I really miss sending my boyfriend a picture of two cuddling cats and saying “This is us.” This loss has been felt deeply and is my only regret in deleting Instagram.
I will admit, I have cheated during my break from social media. I use Instagram on my laptop to check messages sent by my friends. While I do watch the reels that my friends send, I avoid falling into the infinite scroll of doom, which has helped me reduce time on Instagram. I also absolutely despise the user interface of the website version of Instagram, so I spend as little time on it as possible.
Overall, this change has been almost freeing. I am more present, aware, and focused with the people around me. I spend more time thinking about myself and my mental health rather than comparing myself to people I’ll never meet. I also decreased my daily phone time to about two hours. Despite my initial discomfort with the massive change, I could not regret it less (but if you’re reading this and you love me, please send me a picture of a cat).