Hey everyone,

Hopefully this is the right place to post something like this, but I’ve been thinking about deleting Instagram for a while now, and I’m curious whether anyone else has had similar thoughts or gone through the same experience.

I’ve had Instagram since 2019, but I only really started using it properly in 2022. Before that, I didn’t have many friends on the app and mainly used it to follow things I was interested in, such as actors, film pages, and updates about upcoming movies.

Over time, though, it’s become one of my main sources of information about what’s happening in the world and what’s going on in my friends’ lives.

Lately, however, I’ve started questioning whether it’s doing me more harm than good.

For one thing, there seems to be an endless stream of negative news and content about how the world is falling apart. I understand that these things are happening, and I’m not suggesting we should ignore them, but do I really need to see 200 reels about everything going wrong in the world every time I open the app?

I also found myself scrolling for hours without really getting anything out of it. I’ve actually managed to address that part by deleting Instagram from my phone and keeping it on my PC instead, which means I only check it occasionally.

But the bigger issue is that I’m worried about what I’d miss if I deleted it altogether.

I have a relatively small circle of genuine friends, and I enjoy seeing them achieve their goals, share memories, go on holidays, and experience good things in life. I like seeing my friends happy, and I don’t want to lose that connection.

At the same time, I sometimes wonder whether constantly seeing everyone else’s highlights can affect how you feel about your own life, particularly when you’re not quite where you want to be yet.

I know social media doesn’t show the full picture. People generally share the good moments rather than the difficult ones, and I’m guilty of doing the same. I understand that what we see online is only a small part of someone’s life, but I still wonder whether constantly consuming these carefully selected moments has an impact on us, even when we know they don’t tell the whole story.

Something else I’ve been thinking about is how our relationships on social media have changed.

When Facebook first became popular, people were referred to as friends. Now, on Instagram, we have followers. I know that’s just terminology, but it does make me wonder when the idea of connecting with people gradually became more about following them.

I’ve also seen people talk about having hundreds of views on their stories but only receiving a handful of likes on their posts. What does that say about the connections we have online? Are people genuinely interested in each other’s lives, or have we just become accustomed to watching from a distance?

Maybe I’m overthinking it, but sometimes it feels as though we’re keeping up with each other without actually keeping in touch.

Before social media became such a big part of our lives, you might have contacted a friend and asked, “Hey, how are you? What’s been happening?” They’d tell you about their holiday, something exciting they’d done, or what was going on in their life. You’d have an actual conversation and learn about their experiences.

Now, you might see their holiday pictures, leave a comment, or like a story, and that’s the end of it. You already know the highlights, so there’s less reason to reach out and ask about them.

Of course, social media makes sharing things incredibly convenient. You can update everyone at once, keep up with people you might not otherwise speak to regularly, and have somewhere to store and share photographs. I can see the benefits, and I’m not suggesting that social media is inherently bad.

I just wonder whether something meaningful has been lost along the way.

I’d much rather have regular phone calls, texts, and proper conversations with my friends than simply watch updates about their lives. I want to hear their stories, understand how they’re doing, and have conversations that go beyond a quick like or comment.

So, for those of you who have deleted Instagram or stepped away from social media altogether, what has your experience been like?

Did you feel better for it? Did you find other ways to stay connected with your friends? Did you feel as though you were missing out or being left behind, particularly when so much of what happens in people’s lives is shared online?

And for those who have stayed off social media long term, do you feel that your friendships have become more meaningful, or have some relationships naturally faded away?

I’m not necessarily looking for people to tell me to delete it or keep it. I’m genuinely interested in hearing other people’s experiences and perspectives.

It feels as though we live in a world where we’re more connected than ever, yet I sometimes wonder whether we’re actually becoming less connected in the ways that matter.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

I finally bit the bullet and bought a Brick to cut my phone addiction and be more productive + intentional with my time. My dopamine is most definitely not normal as well! I’m starting at least with no scrolling until noon then can’t scroll again after 3pm (It got bad!)

When I’m WFH and have a break or am just sitting eating breakfast, I definitely would be scrolling social media around then. Besides reading, what can I do around then? Need to learn how to be bored again. Sit in the silence maybe?😳

Just wanted to share how my homescreen currently looks.

I have used minimalist launchers before, but it never really clicked, so I just went back so Samsung's standard launcher which personalized icons and a better organization.

I have used my phone for comfort, and a way to regulate my emotions for years . But now i have reduced my time on it (14-11 avrage to 5-4)

With these changes my mind has gone insane I mean how do I regulate my emotions, how do i sleep without my brain stressing out and not having my phone distract me from it.

My skin has literally been breaking out from this stress. Although I got alot of things done ( school stuff)

My brain just wants to return to doomscolling for hours on end. Ik thats not what I want to do especially since I am going to nursing for uni next year.

Can someone help me get out of this discomfort. I need to stop this addiction.

This used to be such a fun app, but now it’s all hateful misogynistic bullshit. I used to go on there to watch videos related to my interests, baking and cooking videos, crafts, normal trends and stuff like that but 2025 and 2026 have been the absolute worst years of TikTok. Every time I go on there now, it’s full of AI slop, bp, Looksmaxxing, teenage boys posting comments about how abortion should be banned and periods should be daily.

Also lots of racism and hate in general on there. It is the worst app to ever exist and has ruined so many people’s mental health. It’s literally unavoidable, these trends have started on other apps as well. I hate lncel culture so so SO MUCH. No, I don’t want to see yourself smashing your face, stop acting like a lunatic and stop filming videos of yourself eating raw chicken in a random forest.

I just find it so disgusting that nothing at all has been done about this because it’s been going on for almost 2 years now or even more and I remember four years ago I could post a completely innocent comment and it would get banned for no reason at all. Now you can say racist and misogynistic terms and no one will bat an eye. It’s unbelievably ridiculous and TikTok has set women back so much. I don’t even use social media that much, but it’s literally in real life too, ai slop sold everywhere and teenage boys making these disturbing jokes. I’m really worried about the future generation, and I’m saying this as a 19-year-old. I hate it. I wish it was never created and I just wish that one day I would wake up and everything would go away.

Finally had to upgrade from my Galaxy Folder 2 since my service provider is no longer supporting their 3g network. Got a new phone for free, which is great, but it's no longer a semi-dumb phone so I'm on a quest to dumb it down a reasonable amount.

What I'd ideally like to do is completely block certain apps and mobile sites, but only while I'm at home. I travel to visit family fairly often, and being able to browse social media while on the train or during downtime while visiting is nice.

I've been hunting through the playstore, but I have yet to find any apps for Android that will allow me to do what I want without a subscription.

Any recommendations?

I left my old company around end of September, and I’m set to resume working again next week. Thought i would be bored out of my wit since I assumed there was nothing for me to do in between as I’ve only recently deleted social media except reddit (~4 months), but boy that was the most fun I’ve had without spending most of my days doomscrolling.

Besides the life admin work I had to focus on before restarting corporate, I actually invested time in my hobbies too. I finished my second half marathon race, completed digital books, took art classes online, journalled, work out and if i do feel like “doomscrolling”, i’ll just end up browsing animal videos and video essays that are actually worth my time. My screen time while funemployed was much lower compared to when i was working (which is crazy, considering i didn’t have “time” with a 9-5)

I’m just happy i’ve detached from the apps that took my time and attention span away, and i hope this inspired anyone else who is thinking of deleting their apps but just needed a lil push.

Throughout the years I've put in a lot of work trying to avoid short form content. I've deleted tiktok, stayed away from youtube shorts completely. Reels used to be the same thing, avoidable. I've had different ways of doing this before with different reel blockers and different versions of instagram, but as the app updates and reels get pushed further down your throat in every way, im kind of running out of ways to avoid them. I've found myself back to doomscrolling, and even when i get something like a reel blocker that closes the app when i open the reels page, they still pop up on the main feed.

I can't really delete instagram since its my main form of communication with people, and i still like to see what my friends have posted occasionally and to hear about different events.

Basically, how do i go about avoiding reels when it feels like the entire app is based around them now?

I have been able to reduce my average screen time by over 50%.

Its been almost 2 months since I deleted instagram.

Next, I deleted facebook and X, but this has only been 1 week since I deleted these 2 apps. Im a politics enthusiast so I tend to scroll through X and Facebook a lot.

As an alternative to facebook and X, I started using reddit and youtube.. The objective is not to cut down social media 100% but to eventually reduce it. For me personally, both reddit and YT has helped the cause.

Strategy; To increase attention span and reduce social media. The strategy is below;

Youtube;

My objective to use youtube is to increase my attention span. I don't watch any video that is less than 30 mins. Doesn't matter if it boring, I watching it till the end. Even if I had to stop in middle, rule is to finish the video or the podcast unless I do that I cannot move to the next video. Before this my main concern was my attention span. Instagram and facebook has really adversely effected my attention span with short video clips. Happy to say now I can go for longer periods without the urge to scroll.

Tip: use TV to watch YT if it's possible and have the next video qued so you don't have scroll to find the next video.

Ps: I consciously avoid YT shorts and use youtube premium if I'm listening to a podcast so I can lock the phone and still use it.

Reddit

I have consistently tried to delete social media and do 100% cut off but eventually I download them again within few hours. Reason being there is no alternative. We are so used to something and we cannot let go everything like that at once. So my strategy is to find a better alternative. For me it was reddit. It serves 2 purposes, you can scroll but at the same time its does not stimulate dopamine as much as instagram/facebook or X. Secondly, I have joined subreddits that is close to my lifestyle or interests. The amount of information that flow through to me beyond my interests are minimum compared to other platforms.

All above is my own experiment. I thought of sharing my process of reducing screentime with the community hoping that it will help someone who's seeking to be better. My approach might not be perfect but I have seen results.

Good luck.

My wife called me out on my endless, mindless habit of scrolling and my complete reliance on my phone for everything… I don’t think she meant it as a “calling out” as much as she was just pointing out that I don’t know how to be bored and I’m always in the middle of 30 things at one (and 20 of them are on the phone).

Since then (it’s been about a week) I’ve made a conscious effort to find areas of my every day life to reduce my phone usage for things that aren’t phone calls.

I am a self employed criminal defense attorney so to expect me to entirely ditch the cell phone is unreasonable but I’ve also found the expectation of clients that I will be available 24/7 is unreasonable and unsustainable as well. I have consciously made the point of not responding to work texts after 5pm unless it’s a true emergency (they never are) I also don’t respond to work emails after 5pm.

I also made the point of not running my gps while driving (I’ll look up directions ahead of time to a court I’m unfamiliar with) I found that if my phone is running gps I have a tendency to pick it up while driving (which is both unsafe and against the law so I’m not doing that anymore) and I’ve rediscovered radio rather than listening to podcasts/or Apple Music while driving.

Between those changes and cutting out the bedtime mindless scrolling I have made huge strides. After a week of this I’m feeling encouraged to continue plus my screen time on my phone is down from over 11 hours a day to less than 5 hours a day. I’m going to continue to find places where I can cut the time further (I know there’s plenty I can do to reduce it) but I didn’t want to abstain from cell phone usage, just reign in the excessive usage.

Where are the walls you all have hit in this type of journey, especially those of you who are self employed or employed in a professional setting where there is this unrealistic expectation to be on call all the time?

**NOT SPONSORED** I used to be heavily addicted to scrolling and watching youtube and Instagram while I was trying to do school work on my PC. It was to the point where I was unable to do work without having something playing on a second screen, and my grades were dropping.

When I realized how bad it was, I searched for ways to block these sites. The best thing I found is something called Cold Turkey Blocker, you can basically set the sites you want to block, so when you search the URLS you are unable to see the site. Its been insanely helpful, and I was able to quit almost instantly.

Again I'm not sponsored to say this anything, it just really helped me, and it can definitely help others.

I have had dumb phones before but there are 2 things I really need. 1-The audio needs to be very clear and loud. 2. Not easily breakable. I don’t want to spend a lot either. Pretty much few people buy dumb phones and I just don’t know where to look.

I deactivated my facebook and IG account about a month or so ago just because it was such a time thief and distraction. However, I miss the groups and I sometimes need info from them. But I don’t want to log back in and have the algorithm doing it’s tempting and start doomscrolling again. Is there any way to use FB just for the groups? Like is there a way to reset my feed and algorithm or altogether block it? Looking for some tips/tricks hopefully. I am not that savvy with the FB settings so looking for some help! Thanks

I am permanently off instagram since past 3 months. However I joined grad school in august. Lately I feel left out. I just want to know from some ladies in this sub who are in college or their twenties; if you use or used instagram, did you stalk guys or like think someone was cool by their instagram profile or activities? Like did it make you pursue men or feel you had a personal liking to them because of their instagram posts?

I know it may sound stupid but since I am a student I feel kinda left out and this is an itch which keeps bugging me. I don’t want to go back to instagram because I want to be “perceived” as cool or like show off my past cool experiences. Its just an itch I want to scratch.

I used HMD dumbphone for almost three years. That period was enough to rewire my brain, and now that I've returned to iPhone, I just use it for absolutely essential apps.

I posted a couple of week ago about my drastic phone break-up.

It continues to go very well, barely picking the thing up at all anymore and last time I even bothered to check daily screen times, it was only 10-15 mins a day doing functional things like banking and occasional messaging people on WhatsApp if it couldn't wait for me to get home and do it from the computer. I have various tactics and fallbacks to fill the time but I wanted to highlight one thing.

A low-level anxiety and dread I wasn't really all that aware I was feeling all the time has completely lifted, things feel so clear and light, despite some stressful things going on.

This is not an insignificant change, wanted to say it out loud if it helps anyone keep their eyes on the long term prize. It is something that I was not really expecting going into this but had heard others say something similar, adds up.

Was originally planning on getting a dumbphone and am definitely open to it (though more guessing I'd like a "dumber" phone) but I've waited so long my old Pixel 5 is falling apart and is nearly unusable.

Things I'd like:

• Small size - my current phone is 3" x 5.75" and honestly I wish I had a smaller phone but I definitely do NOT want anything bigger.
• Waterproof - most dumbphones I see don't have any sort of waterproofing or hardening and I'll be honest my pixel has ended up in the ocean at least twice and in other water a couple other times. I remember old dumbphones had no issue but most of the ones I've looked at recently say they'll be toast.
• Toughness - look I drop my phone. I always try to have decent cases and screen protectors but it happens more than I'd like to admit.
• Libby support - I love listening to audiobooks and this is where my "dumbphone" plan has broken down, I use my library's audiobook app constantly and want to continue. I've heard some people use it through the browser so I'm open to that option but I'm guessing the functionality is...less than ideal. I'm open to (and honestly would almost prefer) an MP3 player with this support but I have no confidence in the longevity of the devices I see for sale.
• Camera - I'm down with having a camera separate from a phone so open to suggestions but I run into the same issue of size with stand alone option.

Obviously this is a very "goldilocks" list but I feel like there's gotta be another outdoorsy audiobook lover who maybe has found something that works well. Also looking for advice re: mobile provider, I've been with Google Fi for a few years but am guessing it's not going to work with my next phone.

Thanks in advance!

Hi!! i'm looking for recommendations for a simple & minimalist alarm clock. Preferably white/neutral colour. I don't need bluetooth or any fancy features, just something reliable that does the job.

Im trying to move towards a more analog lifestyle and not worried every night that my alarm won't go off on my phone.

any recs?

Hello fellow Reddit user,

Hope this post finds you well.

I wanted to speak about my thoughts, feelings, and after effects of permanently deleting social media. I’m a male in my late 20s and started social media all in my teen years.
here is a summary of the types of social media I had:

My very first social media platform I joined was Twitter. I joined Twitter in 2012 and honestly speaking, it was my favorite platform to use. I loved that I could share my thoughts. The original idea of Twitter was absolutely genius. Wasn’t it 140 character limit and you share your thoughts and feelings? Gosh I miss the good ole days. Twitter before it turned into X was utter bliss. I’m an absolute sports fanatic and I fell in love with live tweeting professional and college sports. I would tweet life quotes and it became a part of my identity. Through natural following, I got my followers above 1,500 random users and friends and it was fun to actively start discussions on sports and social topics. I quickly lost interest in Twitter after it became X and tbh I’m not missing to much anymore because I’ve found different groups on Reddit to inquire sports conversations about.

Snapchat was honestly just a waste of time for me. I had a streak go over 3 years at one point and it had me feeling like I was a noob to have streaks with people I have no intention of interacting with again. I used it a ton but it was the first social media app I deleted and I don’t miss it at all. Nothing much more to say about that.

Instagram was the hardest thing for me to delete. I had deactivated my Instagram numerous times, I tried permanently deleting it and then logging in the 30 day window to cancel out the deletion. I went up and down, side to side in my head about this application. Looking back at it, Instagram held something over me. I’d like to say, I was addicted, I loved the attention I got from the app, it made me feel wanted, it made me feel good about myself. I started using Instagram in 2013, at first Instagram was a place to be funny, to be yourself. I was so careless with it. Just posting whatever cool pictures of funny moments with my friends. It wasn’t ever something that was so serious. In fact, I’d go days to weeks without looking at it. Although, a time had came a couple years into having IG, where I took it seriously. It became a thing to me that I would try to post once a week, and make a cool post out of it. During that time I took pictures for the sake of posting them on Instagram. And the picture had to be “perfect”. I got into my college years and adult life, it became a place where I would post life updates and let the world know who I became. Show off my accomplishments and that I was doing something good. The likes, the comments, it fed my addiction. I liked the attention and I had a lot of followers that made me feel good. My following had surpassed a few thousand people at this point. People I met and randoms that just followed me that I had no idea about. I cared so much about the likes, the comments, the followers. To me, it made me feel like I was on the right track. Can you believe that? Social media of all things was giving me this much satisfaction. Okay but I must admit, my IG dumps were so tuff!! I put so much effort to make these posts aesthetically pleasing.
Looking down this same line of thought, I think back on this and didn’t realize how blinded I had become. All of these followers weren’t my actual friends. You know, when I deleted Instagram, only a handful of people had even noticed. Here I was amounting hundreds of likes on a post and maybe 5%-10% of my followers that i personally knew, noticed I was even gone. That stung a lot. But this became a beautiful thing to me as well, since I started recognizing the real friendships that I had versus the Instagram friendships I had.
This all has led to another underlying problem. Since I deleted my IG, I didn’t realize how much family I had on there, and how much more difficult it has become to stay connected with my family members. I had roughly 250 or so followers that were simply family or distant family members(not including family friends). People that I knew from all over the world. Our family immigrated to the States in the 80s and 90s and family members moved all over the world and their families grew and IG became a place to stay connected. I really really miss that part of the application. I’ve noticed in myself that it’s been the hardest thing to get over, heck I’m not sure I’ve grown past it yet. Then again, if they mattered to me so much, I’d reach out via phone number or WhatsApp right? Clearly we weren’t as close as I thought, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t miss staying connected with them.

In conclusion,
I may or may not make a smaller, more discrete IG account to stay connected with those that actually matter to me, but I won’t for some time. This journey has just started a little over 3 months ago and I’m interested to learn more about who I am without the pressures of social media at my fingertips, not everyday is going to be easy, my anxiety may take over my days from time to time, but it important to remember that the people I need, are always there. Life is a blessing, have a good one and thanks for reading my vent/post.

I want to try being a content creator (focusing on beauty/skincare) as an alternative source of income since I'm currently unemployed. At the same time, I'm worried about going back into the rabbit hole of doom scrolling since I have nothing else to do. I am also actively applying to jobs but I haven't heard any feedback from them yet. I might get downvoted for this post because content creation and digital minimalism are on the opposite sides of the coin. Can you really become a digital minimalist while having a career in social media? Let me know your thoughts. Any advice or tips are welcome. Thank you :)

Music (cassette player. Got one in my car too!), daily time-block pocket planner, little mini keychain pen, slim wallet, and my “dumb phone.”

I believe the idea of ​​replacing a smartphone with a "dumb phone" is impractical in our time, given our reliance on mapping, banking, and government applications. People often overlook the benefits of smartphones; they simplify many aspects of life and save time. The problem for most people is that the harm outweighs the benefits when it leads to addiction and becomes an integral part of their lives. However, if its use is limited to basic necessities, you'll realize how easy it is to use.