Three weeks ago, I deleted Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat from my phone. I watched The Social Dilemma, which I highly recommend, for one of my classes and I decided to take a break from social media and the control I knew it had over me. This was the best decision I ever made and I’ve recommended taking a break to all of my friends. It’s funny, every time I tell someone that I’ve been off social media, they say something along the lines of “Wow, I should do that” or “I wish I was like you.” These responses are so funny to me because you CAN do it too! It’s easier to just bite the bullet and go cold turkey. You will realize very quickly how fake social media really is, and you’ll notice the anxiety you get from social media melt away just as fast.Â
At first, it was weird. I wasn’t getting notifications from my friends sending me posts or people liking my story; I was totally separated from my online persona. I quickly realized how skewed my perception of myself and the relationships I maintain with my friends got by using social media platforms.Â
For Instagram….
I figured that Instagram would be the hardest platform for me to step away from because I use it regularly and I like being able to keep up with people in my various social circles via their posts and stories. I also knew that I doomscroll on Instagram more than any other platform and getting rid of the app would completely alter what I would do with my time moving forward. It sounds silly, but I was worried about what I was going to do in my free time if I didn’t have Instagram. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how sad it is that we have been conditioned to believe that we need these social platforms to function. We’ve become so addicted to the fake realities social media portrays that so many of us cannot envision a life where we aren’t tethered to this way of life.
Part of me was concerned about the lack of connection with my friends if I deleted Instagram because I wouldn’t see what they’re posting or doing. But then I realized that this mentality was also silly. If I want to keep up with people, I should make a real effort to text, call, or actually spend time with the people who matter to me. Otherwise, what I’m missing is not them, it’s the version of their lives I see on Instagram, and that isn’t how friendship should work. Separating myself from Instagram has giving me the opportunity to engage directly with my friends outside of the fake reality that Instagram has created for us.
For Snapchat…
I have already decreased my Snapchat usage over the past few years, and now I only use it to see what some people are doing, and of course, advertise my life on my coveted private stories. Getting rid of Snapchat really showed me how much of my presence on the app was truly performative. I realized that much of what I was posting was for specific people to react to, which is silly. Having some weird, parasocial online relationship with people I don’t really know isn’t helpful for me, or them, and it just creates drama and stress. I will admit, I do wonder if I got any interesting Snaps or chats from people since I’ve been gone, but I remind myself how unimportant all of that is. I know that the people I am closest with can directly contact me by text or calling if there is something they really wish to talk about.Â
For X (formerly known as Twitter)….
The decision to step off X was the easiest out of the three apps. X has consistently been a place where I get stressed about the state of our country and the world and where people are routinely mean to each other. I will say, I miss seeing funny tweets or being able to share my random thoughts I have throughout the day, until I also realized that is silly.
Sharing random, stupid thoughts I have for the attention that I know I would get from my followers is an unhealthy dynamic and situation to be in. I don’t need to share every thought I have, and it doesn’t have to be public. I can keep things to myself! Taking a break from X has demonstrated how mindless a lot of our interactions with these apps are, and how unnecessary all of it is. I can still contact my friends, I can still read the news to catch up on things, and I can now use my time in better ways than scrolling through the fake feeds we are fed.Â
In the end, I decided to step off these platforms to break the cycle of wasting my time with useless brainrot. Life is short and there is so much to experience off our screens, it baffles me more and more every day knowing that people are continually wasting so much time and brain space on these platforms that do not matter and do not help our wellbeing in the slightest. I highly recommend taking a break, even for a day, from the apps that harvest so much of your attention.
A good first step is turning off notifications from these platforms, you’ll soon realize how unimportant they become if they aren’t constantly bombarding you with notifications. If that goes well, think about taking a week-long break from these apps, and keep an eye on how many times you automatically go to open them when you aren’t thinking – that’s the scary part! If you’re liking this, then delete those apps! Take the jump—it’s worth it, I promise! That’s the stage I’m at, and I’m hoping to fully delete my accounts on these three apps soon. My worldview has truly changed for the better since being off these apps and I believe yours will too!