Why I Deleted my Instagram Account

Why did I delete my Instagram account?

To put simply, I stopped enjoying Instagram a while ago, and lately I’ve been asking myself why something I don’t like takes up so much of my time.

You might be asking why I went to the extreme measure of deleting my Instagram account. There are ways to ‘stop using it’ whilst keeping your account alive for future use; I could delete the app instead of my actual account, I could choose to not look at my phone.

But apparently my self-control isn’t that good, because even though I don’t like being on my phone it was what I turned to anyway.

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In the last year, I have done the following things to make my social media experience more positive and less time-consuming:

1/ Only followed accounts of people I knew in person and a few famous people I genuinely liked

2/ Used another app that blocked Instagram after 15 minutes of use a day

3/ Removed the Instagram app from my phone

4/ Turned off my phone after a certain time each night

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I’m embarrassed to say none of these worked for very long.

I’ve never thought of myself as someone who uses their phone excessively; there are many social media/messaging apps I don’t have, and I don’t turn my data on which means I can’t use apps when I’m not at home.

So why was my first instinct to reach for my phone, something I didn’t even enjoy that much anyway?

I want to embrace a minute of not having something to do. I want to sit and think and not distract myself with a screen. I don’t want to lose track of time because I’m looking at content that doesn’t add value to my life.

Social media is such a tricky thing because a lot of people I know live elsewhere and it’s a way of keeping in contact.

But I also think that people I care about should know I care about them regardless of liking or commenting on their photo. Social media isn’t a platform to hold a decent conversation; you might see big life updates, but to really connect you need to converse with the person.

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I’m not trying to rain on the social media parade. I’m not saying that it’s bad and I’m not judging those who use it. I personally just want to break the habit of reaching for my phone. I want to better manage my time. I want to see the world through my own eyes rather than through a screen. And I’ve found I can’t do these things if I have Instagram.

Maybe one day I’ll make a new Instagram account and I won’t feel guilty about the time I spend on it. But now is the time for me to have a break.

I’ve deleted my Instagram account and it’s the beginning of something.

Sarah xx