Why I decided to take an Instagram break

On June 4th of this year, I made the sudden decision to log out of Instagram for the first time in years. I also deleted the app from my phone for the first time ever!

I had never bothered to log out before because it was just easier to tap the icon on my phone rather than wasting precious time signing in every time. But the precious time that was actually being wasted was all of the time I was spending on the app.

I wasn’t really a big social media person before. I began engaging with Instagram more once I started my business. I knew that it was a great avenue for sharing my thoughts and letting people know what services I was offering. In the early years of being on the app, I was really good at spending less than 10 minutes at a time on there. I’d scroll for a short time, watch a couple of stories and that was it. But as time went on, I started staying for longer periods of time each time I went on the app.

I also found myself going on it more often than I used to. I noticed myself clicking that little Instagram icon on my phone MANY times a day: every time there was a pause in action (like waiting for the elevator or in line at the grocery); when I wanted to distract myself from work; if I wasn’t engaged in whatever show I was watching and even when I was on phone calls with friends when we were just shooting the breeze (not cool, I know!).

I started to feel really uncomfortable with these changes in my use of the app. What had me the most uncomfortable was the unconsciousness with which I was using it. It was scary how often my finger would tap that icon without my conscious knowledge and without any purpose. What was I wanting to see on there? Could I even remember what I saw? How come I couldn’t stop scrolling even when I didn’t really want to?

I know I have a flare for the dramatic, but it really did seem like I’d lost control of my mind and body! I remember there being times when I literally had to drop the phone from my hand to break the mental trance that I found myself in.

Looking back, I can also see the way that my emotions were being impacted. One post would make me sad, then the next would have me laughing, then the next would have me angry, then I’d be back to laughing. Talk about an emotional roller coaster! And I was getting on this roller coaster many times, every single day. Real life gives us enough emotional ups and downs…I absolutely didn’t need any extra rides!

This post is by no means a judgement of your IG habits or advice on what you should do. There really is a lot of good stuff on Instagram and I really missed it at first, but my decision to take a break ultimately came down to the fact that I want to bring more intentionality to my life. This break has opened up so much more time and mental space for me to focus on things that will move the needle on the dreams and goals that I have for myself. One of which was starting this blog!

I’m not sure when (or if) I’ll get back on the app, but when (if) I do, I plan to approach it with much more mindfulness and intentionality. And maybe I’ll even start logging out every time!