I’ve had an Instagram account for at least fifteen years. I believe I first made my account when I was in eighth grade. I shared a lot on Instagram when I was younger. Fortunately, I have deleted those embarrassing posts from my past. I rarely post now, as I am more conscious of my privacy, but I do enjoy scrolling through my feed and looking at other people’s stories. Instagram is the social media app that I use the most. I deleted TikTok about a year ago because I was spending way too much time on it. I like Instagram because I follow a good mixture of people I was as well as other influencers. However, I have started to feel the effects of over using social media. I often feel sad or down after I get off Instagram. I get a little freaked out when I see an ad for something I was just talking about. I was beginning to see the dark side that social media platforms, like Instagram, can have on our focus as well as our overall sense of being. In his book Stolen Focus, author Johann Hari spent a lot of time discusses the effects that excessive social media use has on people. He interviewed Aza Raskin, the programmer who invented the “infinite scroll“. Raskin was proud of his work until he started to see what it was doing to those around him. Hari states that, “He [Raskin] felt that he was seeing people become more unempathetic, angry, and hostile as their social-media use went up”.

I was starting to feel like this a little bit. So, I decided to take a break from Instagram. I did a digital detox for five days. According to Maggie Aime, MSN, RN, there are many benefits to a digital detox, even if it’s just for a few hours. These benefits include; boosting your mental health, improving your sleep, reducing eye strain, and building better social connections. I was ready to clear my mind and give myself a good reset and learn a lot about myself in the process.

Day 1 – Monday

I started Monday off strong by deleting the app as soon as I woke up. I didn’t want to forget and then later find myself looking for the app. I went to work and felt very productive since I had no reason to pick up my phone. I had a lot to work on so I didn’t find myself thinking about my lack of Instagram. Lunchtime came and I felt empty because I had my phone with me while I ate, but really didn’t have a reason to go on it. Normally, I go on Instagram when I step away from my desk to eat. I went back to work and didn’t think about Instagram until around 2:30 pm which is the time of the day when I feel like I need a brain break from working. Instead, I just powered through and finished my work day. Later, I went to a work out class and then went home where I cooked and watched a couple of YouTube videos. Afterwards, I found my way to YouTube Shorts and scrolled on that for about ten minutes to fill the desire to scroll, but I got bored of that and picked up my book instead. I read for about an hour and felt the need to pick up my phone, but when I couldn’t find anything to do I went back to reading. On Monday, my phone screen time was 2 hours and 37 minutes and I picked up my phone 90 times that day.

Day 2 – Tuesday

For me, Tuesdays can be a little rough. After the “excitement” of Monday, I usually feel pretty tired Tuesday morning. Not much was different this Tuesday. I started my work day from home at 8:30 am and immediately felt the desire to pick up my phone and go on Instagram to distract me from what I had to do. Once I got over that, I felt extremely productive and not distracted when I settled in to my work. The time flew and it wasn’t until lunch where I felt the desire to pick up my phone. I did have to go on Instagram very quickly to look up a client’s user name and as soon as it loaded I felt very sad. I was sad at the first post I saw because I saw something I missed out on. I didn’t scroll though and got the username and logged off. After I ate, I felt productive again and finished out my workday with no distractions. I went to yoga after work and for the first time in a long time my brain felt very quiet. I wasn’t struggling to relax and my brain wasn’t buzzing like it normally is. I didn’t think about Instagram while a cooked and then soon after that it was time to watch the presidential debate. I was very focused on the debate and even though my boyfriend periodically checked his phone, I didn’t feel any pull to pick up mine. After the debate ended, I was very tired so I just went to bed. On Tuesday, my phone screen time was 1 hour and 13 minutes and I picked up my phone 96 times.

Day 3 – Wednesday

Wednesday was the day where I started to settle in to not having Instagram. The only point in the day where I thought about it was in the morning because I was curious as to what people had to say about the debate. Once I got to work and began my day, I had another great day of productivity and didn’t think about going on Instagram once. I also had a overall sense on positivity about myself and my life. This is because I didn’t have the opportunity to compare my life to the people I follow online. That night I went to a concert with some friends and was able to fully immerse myself in the moment which was an amazing feeling. On Wednesday, my phone screen time was only 44 minutes and I picked up my phone 68 times.

Day 4 – Thursday

On Thursday, I was finally used to not having Instagram. I didn’t think about it and was enjoying not relying on social media. Since I had gone out the night before, I was very tired and had a stronger desire to distract myself from what I had to do during my work day. I was able to power through and get a lot done. I went to a yoga class again this day and was able to really enjoy the flow and feel very relaxed. I still didn’t think about Instagram while I cooked. It wasn’t until after dinner when I felt the urge to go on Facebook to fill the desire to scroll. I still have a Facebook account, but check it once a week. I didn’t give in to my urge to use social media and instead filled my time by doing some work. This made me feel better and much more productive with my time. On Thursday, my phone screen time was 1 hour and 41 minutes and I picked up my phone 38 times.

Day 5 – Friday

Once Friday came, I was so used to not having Instagram that I barely even thought about it. It was so normal for me to not have it that it didn’t bother me anymore. I used my phone during the workday as more of a tool rather than a distraction. I had to check on many of my websites for work to ensure that they looked good on a mobile device. I also listened to a few podcasts during the day while I worked. After work, my boyfriend, a coworker, and I went to the Berlin Fair to get some footage for a client. While we were there, I didn’t feel any desire to take out my phone and, like the concert, I was able to full immerse myself in the moment and enjoy what I was doing. On Friday, my phone screen time was 3 hours and 8 minutes and I picked up my phone 108 times.

What I Learned

Since finishing this challenge, I have redownloaded Instagram. The first time I went on it after the week was over, I was only on Instagram for a few minutes because I quickly got bored of it. I thought to myself, “What’s the point?”. This detox taught me that I don’t need fill my time with scrolling and it’s okay to have moments where I don’t need to be doing anything. I don’t think I will permanently get rid of Instagram, but I feel like I will be very mindful of the time I do spend on the app. I even think I will do a monthly Instagram detox where I remove the app for one week. It was a very centering experiment and I think it helped to reset myself. Overall, I enjoyed this challenge and was able to learn a lot about myself.