It was Week 4 of fall quarter, the onset of my midterm season, and instead of studying for my math midterm the next day, I was scrolling through the never ending blackhole that is Instagram. After maybe an hour down that blackhole, it really sunk in how many unproductive hours I spend on Instagram. I constantly complain about not having enough hours in the day to accomplish everything that I need to, but then how do I justify the hours I spend aimlessly scrolling? These thoughts, as well as my looming midterm, made me do the impossible – I deleted the Instagram app off my phone. And since the app was already off my phone, and I did not remember the password to get back in anyways, I decided to see if I could go a whole week without using the app. It was a grueling week, but I lived to tell the tale. This is what I learned from my week without Instagram:
- I Am Absolutely 100% Addicted To The App
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The next morning, my alarm went off and I immediately reached for my phone, turned the alarm off and scrolled through my phone until I reached the location of where the Instagram used to be. Disgruntled when I remembered that I deleted the app, I checked my emails instead. The same thing happened in line to get coffee, in the middle of a boring lecture, about 40 times as I attempted to do my homework, about 11 more times as I attempted to write the introduction paragraph to this story and right before I went to sleep. It was almost second nature for me to be on Instagram. I could literally find the location of the app on my phone with my eyes closed. I had an addiction that I did not realize actually existed.
- At First I Felt Like I Was Missing Out
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At first, the FOMO hit hard. What am I missing out on? What are all my friends up to? I felt so out of the loop, but then I began to think about it. I felt out of the loop from what? The fake world that people cultivate online? The perfect worlds that do not actually exist? After the first few days, not only did the FOMO go away, but I began to realize that Instagram could be a source of negativity. Instagram gives us access to everything happening in everyone else’s lives and it can get overwhelming. Especially days where I felt like I was not living my best life all, feelings of envy, sadness and self-consciousness came up. WIthout social media, those feelings actually mostly went away. When I sat in the library on Thursday night, I was productive, rather than miserable because I watched my friends having fun on their instagram stories.
- I Love Phone Calls So Much
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Without Instagram as a way to keep up with the lives of my friends, I began calling them instead. When I would have been scrolling through my feed – in elevators, walking to class, in lines or when I wanted to procrastinate, I called my friends or family instead of going on Instagram. Not only was I able to pass time, I was also able to talk to people about how they actually are, rather than how they portray themselves on social media. I was able to have real, intimate conversations, rather than just commenting “So cute!” on their latest Instagram photos. There is something about hearing someone else’s voice that makes a relationship so much more intimate than one ever perceived through social media.
- Living And Experiencing In The Moment Is So Refreshing
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The night after I deleted Instagram, as I was walking back to the dorms, I saw the most beautiful sunset. The sky was filled with pinks, oranges and greens. And instead of documenting it on my Instagram story, I sat down on Janss Steps and watched the sun set until all the vibrant colors disappeared from the sky. I cannot explain how amazing and grounding the experience was. If I was scrolling through my Instagram as I walked back to the Hill, I would have completely missed the breathtaking sky. If I decided to document it on my instagram story, I would have spent so much time trying to get a good photo that I would not have been able to experience the sunset’s beauty. My week off Instagram helped me to realize how beautiful the real world is and how much of it I am missing by being so fixated on everyone’s Instagram lives.
And even though I still use Instagram everyday, the Instagram “detox” helped me understand the importance of putting my phone down and living in the moment and for the moment. We miss so much around us when our eyes are constantly glued to our feed. Let’s try to be so focused on our own life, that we do not need social media to feel validated, connected and loved.