I discovered today that it’s been 28 weeks – or 7 months for those without superior maths’ skills – since I decided to attempt an Instagram detox. I wasn’t sure how long I’d last but just knew I needed the break.
I did dip my toes back into the ‘gram-infested water for a few days in early October 2019 when I attended a crime-writing festival and posted a couple of pics at Christmas, but that’s it.
Why I left Instagram
My biggest problem with Instagram was that it was such a time-waster for me. I adored the #vanlife and #tinyhouse stuff so I’d lie on my bed with my iPhone and follow the hashtags down the never-ending rabbit hole. Before I knew it an hour had passed and my ‘to-do’ list was going nowhere. Fast.
My other problem was – of course – the life envy I endured suffered. And though I’m conscious most people only share their highlights’ reel and the beautifully curated images don’t reflect the everyday crap; it still felt like everyone else’s highlights’ reel was better than mine. They had more friends, more fun, got books I didn’t, could afford nice holidays, had kids and partners. And I didn’t. Waaaaah!
Do I miss Instagram?
Though I knew it’d be healthy to cut out the life-envy stuff, I was surprised how little I missed the random scrolling.
I was reminded of discovering Pinterest over a dozen years ago and spending forever looking at art deco living spaces, loft living, fairy lights and outdoor spaces. At food I’d never cook and clothes I’d never wear.
What I did miss however, was the habit of documenting my life. I know there are those who HATE social media users who share meal pics or views or “I’ve just done this!” type posts… but as someone who lives alone and currently works from home, it was often how I engaged with the world.
“Look what I’m doing!” Or I’d share a funny (ie. sarcastic) meme about how much life sucked…. “This is how I’m feeling!”
Hi Twitter, I’m baaaack!
Of course, I reinvigorated my Twitter use – which I’d let slip since making my seachange. It was my platform of choice before 2012. I preferred it to Facebook and rarely used Instagram. Instead I’d flick through Twitter, responding to virtual friends and complete strangers on my commute to and from work. I had Tweetdeck open on my desktop computer at home and monitored the feed as it scrolled by when I was blogging or working.
Happily I’ve grown to love Twitter again and am reminded that there are some very funny and talented people in the world. It seems to be the social media du-jour for social commentators and writers*.
Sadly, of course, I still mostly use it to document the boring banality of my life.
But back to Instagram, and I’m keeping it off all of my devices for the foreseeable future… though do log onto the desktop version every couple of days as my niece is overseas and posts Instagram stories, so it’s the only way I keep up with her antics.
Have you detoxed or wanted to leave a social media platform? I wonder if Facebook should be next on my list, though I get A LOT of local info and news from pages I follow there.
* Sadly trolls and bullies exist on Twitter as they do any other social media platform (and in life in general).
| I’m trying to blog each day in March… to get my blogging / writing / interest in life mojo back. I’ll only open comments on some posts only though as I hate the idea of people feeling ‘obligated’ to pop by and read or say hi! |
March 3, 2020
I couldn’t exist without Instagram… twitter though? I don’t think I’ve used it in a couple of years and I’m really only on Facebook because of groups and close friends & family…who aren’t on Insta lol.
March 4, 2020
I’m the same re Facebook Jo…. friends and family (I don’t see much) and chatting with friends, as well as the local news, also writing group news etc…
I think I used Twitter a lot in my early days of blogging and the 12WBT days. I still have my @schmiet account as well as my @debbishdotcom (formerly @rockafellaskank!) I think though haven’t tweeted from it for a loooong time.
March 3, 2020
I love Twitter. I find myself using FB and Insta less and less. Twitter is more fun.
March 4, 2020
I agree that Twitter’s fun Rebecca and I use it to see what’s trending and get news. It means I can check out the news I WANT to see and ignore the rest!
March 3, 2020
An interesting look at Insta use Deb, I use it regularly and love the documenting of life as you say but rarely go following hashtags. I use Twitter too but not very well and Facebook is mainly for keeping up with friends. It’s always good to have breaks! Good luck on the blogging everyday, hope it gets you writing.
March 4, 2020
Thanks Debbie, so far the daily blogging commitment is forcing me to do something each day. We’ll see if it continues or if it gets easier. (Or harder.)
I think initially I liked tiny houses and vans so started following more and more and it fed my fantasies of my future life so then I followed the hashtags to find more. I know some people follow local hashtags or hobbies etc… but I’d spend ages looking at my phone!
March 4, 2020
I do not use social media to document my life, only to share my writing and even that is not daily. I love Pinterest and Instagram, but in both cases I only follow accounts that are my guilty pleasure of “house love.” Looking at pictures of beautiful houses inspires and relaxes me. I only occasionally feel house envy! Often I see something and try to figure out how to recreate it on the cheap. Face book is where I see family and friends. I don’t love it enough to waste too much time there.
March 4, 2020
Oh yes Michele I’m the same as you re inspiration from visual social media feeds. Basically it meant I knew exactly what I’d have in a van if I was going to travel in it. I’d seen so many variations and knew what I liked and didn’t. It’s the same with tiny houses (and home decor etc).
March 4, 2020
Good on you but for me it is Twitter that I can live without. I adore Instagram – the images and videos BUT I have to be careful because it can make me feel ‘less than’ and when that start to happen I need to limit my time on there. In fact more and more I am finding I need to limit my time on social media as a whole. xo
March 4, 2020
I’m less visual and more about the words as you know, so Twitter is good in that respect. I also like its immediacy.
I could never be bothered going to enough trouble to make stuff look pretty for Instagram. Even when sharing pics of my books I’d keep it basic!
March 4, 2020
I’ve been using Twitter a lot more in the recent months and it’s certainly a lot more fun. I might be wrong, but people seem a lot more real on Twitter. Also it’s a better way to share other people’s work as well as your own.
You’re so right about the rabbit hole of following hashtags!! I’ve lost many an hour there.
March 4, 2020
Yes Corinne, I have more ‘conversations’ there. Perhaps it’s because I’m chattier as well whereas on Facebook / Instagram I’ve just shared things with little expectation of a response?
March 4, 2020
I used to love Instagram because I’d just bought a phone with a camera and loved having it on me to photograph beautiful flowers, etc. I fancied myself quite the photographer because I could use filters to make the photos look great. I stopped when it started taking hours to look through my feed and I lost interest with photography. Now social media is there to promote my blog and keep in touch with people. Thankfully writing has taken over all the time I used to spend looking through my phone at Facebook, Instagram etc. A total detox would be great but unfortunately it’s hard to totally drop out of social media these days
March 5, 2020
I agree a complete social media ban is almost impossible as I use it to engage with others (the whole purpose I guess), but I wish I’d dedicate more time to writing in my down-time. That’s one of the things that annoyed me about spending too much time on Instagram – I want to do more ‘creative’ writing but wiled away the hours looking through pics instead!
March 4, 2020
I’ve never had an IG or Twitter account. I’m too susceptible to life envy and I take almost no photos, so I’d just be looking at everyone else’s lives and comparing my ordinary boring days and feeling “less”. I love Pinterest for the pretty pictures and that I don’t need to reciprocate – just pin what I like and move on. Facebook is about family, friends, quotes, and WAY too many ads, but I still love it for the new baby pics and keeping up with people I don’t see IRL. Social media is such a time suck and I remind myself of that whenever I wonder if I should have IG – and the answer is still “No” for me.
Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM
March 5, 2020
I love that you keep to the one platform Leanne as I suspect it means you engage more there. I’m a bit hit and miss with Facebook. I share stuff to my blog page intermittently but don’t have notifications on (hate notifications) so never know if someone’s responded etc. There are quite a few people on FB though who don’t use Twitter so I’d miss that contact if I ditched my blog page.
March 5, 2020
I love Instagram as when Im traveling I can do a photo and then when get back its a reminder of where when etc for the blog. i check it out randomly. like a few and get on with life. Twitter…i still don’t understand it…apparently when I started my hotmail account Twitter was started… I share a bit a few tweets and thats it. FB Im on many chronic illness and travel private groups and thats mainly what it is for. I ignore news etc as I feel they the media blow things out of proportion. no share for me I missed the cut off due to having fun on fb with all the toilet paper memes last night…#MLSTL
March 5, 2020
Ah yes, that’s why I temporarily downloaded the Instagram app when at the writers’ festival last year and was able to record some memories there. I used to like that it helped me track when I went to the hairdresser and I made sure I took a pic there so that I’d be able to work out how long since I’d been! I’ve not got any holidays planned but going to a writing festival in July this year and will probably re-activate it for that weekend for eg.
And yes, some of the toilet paper memes were very funny.
March 5, 2020
Hi Deb, I go through phases with all social media although I do feel the pressure to post to the Facebook Group which I’ve set up. Instagram is hit and miss with me. Sometimes I’m posting daily and then weeks go by with nothing because I literally have nothing of value to post. Also the hashtags are a bit of a pain so I get lazy. Lovely to have you join us at #MLSTL and enjoy your Insta free week. xx
March 5, 2020
I must admit I cringe a bit at those who use lots of hashtags on Instagram as it feels it’s more about getting found and ‘liked’ than sharing something. Of course I get that many people use Instagram as a strategic tool, so the hashtagging and find-ability is central to being on there.
March 5, 2020
I agree Instagram can be such a time waster. I do use it every day but limit use to five minutes morning and night. I’ve had to make a conscious effort to do this as I was losing so much time there. Also the life envy was not good. I love Twitter! #MLSTL Sharing
March 5, 2020
I love Twitter too Jennifer and I think if I could limit my Instagram time like that I’d perhaps use it. I guess that’s the benefit of just checking the desktop version for news of my niece… there’s not much functionality so I’m usually off and on pretty quickly!
March 5, 2020
I’m not a big SM fan so don’t spend much time at all on them other than for business purposes. If I had to choose it would probably be Pinterest. I can see, though, where a ‘minute or two’ on your platform of choice could easily turn into an hour, and your desktop Twitter choice sounds like a wonderful way to stay on top of things and not go down the rabbit hole.
March 6, 2020
It certainly is Candi and I envy you your lack of addiction to social media. I can’t even imagine life without it now as most of my contact with others is actually via SM.
March 6, 2020
Interesting insights and findings! I have had my Instagram wings clipped by Instagram and cannot get access on my phone (started early Jan, no idea why) but as I like to post once or twice a day and it’s linked to my blog and FB page it helps me connect with head and neck cancer people and others I follow. I am spending less time on social media because it’s not on my phone. I still love twitter but I am cranky over there a lot recently because of what the NSW Govt is doing to schools. FB is good and I am OK with that.
Recognising when I start to feel ‘down’ or I just can’t get off scrolling has helped me know “time to move” and get onto a book or outside. Pointless making myself feel worse.
Hope it continues to go well for you. Social media is important for me to stay connected and share. That is why I began back in 2009 with twitter!
Denyse #mlstl
March 6, 2020
Yes, I think Twitter kicked it off for me as well. FB was really something I just used personally and I recall I initially used Instagram just for its filters. I didn’t realise for ages that others could potentially see the pics you took!