Instagram has a whopping one billion active users, and if you’re under age 35, you’re probably one of them, as 71% of young adults are. Though I’m an active user now, I deleted the app entirely from January 2018 to January 2019. Yup, a whole year. This wasn’t some challenge or attempt to change my priorities, though; it was an urgent necessity for my mental health. I found myself scrolling through Instagram only to find countless girls my age showing off their skinny bodies, all while getting hundreds of likes and comments. This sent an obvious message: if you’re skinny and confident, you’ll be liked more than those who aren’t. While this message isn’t at all true, it became fact in my mind and triggered disordered eating, negative body image, and intrusive thoughts. Luckily, I recognized Instagram as the cause and made the sudden decision to delete the app before my mental health got worse.
I’m sure many of you can’t imagine deleting Instagram, right? It can be a really important way to keep up with friends and share about your life. While I believe this wholeheartedly now, I didn’t before. Before, I cared about how many likes I got and if people complimented me in the comments. I’d compare myself to others and delete posts if I felt they weren’t being received well. I’d look up which time of day is best to post for maximum engagement and follow those recommendations rigidly. Using Instagram like that is not fun, and I hate knowing that many women still feel the need to do this every time they open the app.
Thankfully, this story of Instagram ruining my mental health has a happy ending, as I redownloaded the app in January 2019 and now enjoy using it more than I ever did pre-deletion. To achieve this enjoyment, I crafted a set of rules to guide my healthy usage of Instagram, and they are as follows:
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Keep your account private! Unless you’re striving to be an influencer (which I’m not), then why would you want to share your life with strangers? Share with the people that you think and care about. (This rule has made it so that I only have 40 followers, which is composed of entirely close friends and family members.)
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Post what you want to post! Want to photo dump from your last week of fun? Do it! Don’t feel like editing your pictures or adding a filter? Don’t! Are captions hard to think of? Write whatever comes to your mind first! Don’t take yourself too seriously. Remember: you are sharing bits of your life with friends and family, and they aren’t judging your posts, just receiving an update on what’s up with you.
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Don’t make a finsta/spam account! Admit it, you only ever want one because you want to dump all your feelings on the Internet so that you don’t have to deal with them. But come on, it never works! Instead, rely on your close friends just as they rely on you. Text, call or Facetime them. That one-on-one interaction will do more for your emotional wellbeing than Instagram ever will.
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Use your Insta story to share with your closest comrades! Just saw a cute cat? Story post! Baking with your friends? Story post! These small events that usually don’t include a photo op can still be captured without making whole posts. I love to share story posts with my closest friends, and based on their replies, votes and responses, they seem to love what I share.
While these rules won’t work for everyone, they worked for me and have made such a difference in how I utilize and appreciate social media. I highly encourage others who have mental health struggles associated with social media to try out these rules and see how they feel. Or maybe even go some time without Instagram. I survived it, all while building my most meaningful friendships and moving on from my most unfulfilling ones. Whatever you do, don’t let social media bring you down! You are unique and beautiful in your own way, and an app with that ugly of a logo should NOT make you feel otherwise.