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Last year, I was Quitting Instagram — Free yourself from poor mental health, lost productivity, and shopping addiction.
But at one point I slammed on the brakes.
In March I Holiday in IndiaI stared out at the Himalayas, their peaks glowing rose gold from a mix of sunlight and snow, and in that moment of silence I knew I was going to get in trouble.
I picked up I took my cell phone to take a picture of this view. And then I posted it to Instagram. 30 minutes later, I was blue with jealousy and obsessed with the stranger’s island vacation photos that were appearing in my feed.
I remember thinking to myself, “How pathetic.” I was so shocked by this reflection that I wrote to my phone I deleted the Instagram appI’ve done this before, so I knew that once I got over my self-loathing, I might download it again.
However, it has been over 150 days since I last used Instagram, and I have consciously stopped using either the app or the browser version.
The benefits of deleting Instagram continued to grow
The early days of withdrawal were difficultEven though I wanted to post during my vacation to feel satisfied, I kept myself in check. On the flight back to my hometown of Toronto from India, I was hoping that there would be no distractions and I would be able to focus on work. And that’s exactly what happened.
and No reel scrolling Using my phone during breaks at work easily saved me 15-20 minutes per break. That adds up to almost two hours of increased productivity each day. This was a huge boon for me as I try to focus and grow my PR business.
And the best part is, there’s no FOMO because you have no idea what other people are doing. Increased negative self-talk And it made me feel bad about myself. Blocking Instagram completely has improved my mental state because I stopped thinking about whether other people are superficially better off than me. Since quitting the app, I’ve felt more at ease with myself, and as a result, I’m happier and less anxious.
I asked my friends to email me more.
It quickly became clear that I would no longer have access to memes, send hearts to my friends’ stories, or find out about new fancy restaurants in town. This felt like a tough trade-off, because who loves having meme-only conversations with certain friends and doesn’t love a laugh or a tutorial? But it was the price I had to pay.
I also didn’t want to miss any important moments with my close friends and family. So I asked them to share photos of their trips and life events through text, and I did the same. They all agreed. This exercise made me realize that I needed a new way to stay connected with the people I care about, so I started texting and calling more. It took longer than direct messaging, but it allowed me to have deeper conversations.
I’m playing a game now
Without Instagram, my phone felt a bit aimless, especially with all the work and text apps on my laptop. I didn’t know what to do with my free time. So I decided to focus on gaming. I’ve always done crossword puzzles, but I’ve added more games to my phone, like Connections, Wordle, and LinkedIn Games. Overall, these games take less than 30 minutes to finish, but they’re a good enough dopamine hit when I want to do something on my phone.
During my vacations, surrounded by beautiful scenery, gorging myself on Instagram-worthy food, and taking photos with loved ones, I often felt the urge to download Instagram again. But I stopped myself, because the benefits far outweigh the recognition and moments of bragging rights. I still record things and save them on my phone.
At first, I was skeptical that people who weren’t in touch with me would think I had no life. But I’ve come to terms with it and feel at ease that I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. Quitting Instagram has helped me feel more secure, give me much more time to work, and develop deeper connections with my friends. I might start again one day, but for now, these benefits are worth more to me than the app.