I deleted Instagram for a week

I’ve always been someone who has prided themselves on being a “bad texter”; someone who hardly checks their phone and rarely answers messages on time. They say “bad texters” are always the best type of person, rarely checking their phone when they're with people and devoting their entire attention to the activity at hand. I lived this way for years, priding myself on my ability to detach from my cellular device and live off of the way nature intended us to stay entertained and connected – meeting friends face-to-face, exploring our cities, and doing activities without the need to check your phone. I lived this way ever since I can remember – until this past year.

Recently, I’ve found myself glued to my phone, almost evidently because I’ve been at home more than ever with a fraction of the amount of plans. I now (like most us) have been limited to the entertainment in my own home, which to me was just never the only option. Unprepared to be spending so much time in my downtown apartment, I was left to my own devices to stay sane. And it appears that quite literally, according to my Screen Time tracker, I had been choosing one device specifically where I had been allocating a whopping daily average of 4 hours a day to; my iPhone.

I had to do something to save my brain from becoming too dependent on my phone, and I had to do something fast. I foraged through my Screen Time tracker analytics to find the most-used app for time wasted on my phone – only to find that the #1 culprit was none other than the Instagram app. After a few days of contemplating, I simply woke up one morning and did it. I did it! I took hold of my life and I deleted Instagram. And here’s what happened.

1.    My brain was able to focus

Before I deleted Instagram, my Screen Time tracker told me that I had a daily average of 150 “pick ups” a day. This means that during an average day (8:00am-11:00pm), I picked up my phone 150 times, which, if we do the math, means that I picked up my phone 10 times every hour. Whether I had notifications or not, I was feverishly checking my phone, responding to messages, and somehow would always end scrolling through Instagram, with no end in sight. Clearly, this habit was deterring me from focusing on my daily tasks and activities. Once I deleted the app, I truly felt less noise in my head and overall it felt like a cloud was lifted from my thoughts. I was less distracted, able to think clearly, and I was soon able to simply check my phone, respond to any notifications and then put it down right after – a seemingly easy task that is truly a feat worth recognizing!

2.    I became less anxious

This was a huge reason why I thought of deleting the app in the first place. Scrolling through Instagram during a pandemic when your desires are heavily restricted is overall not the best idea. It was hard scrolling through my feed, seeing people doing things that I so desperately wanted; travelling, going out, being with big groups of people, and seeming carefree about the whole world being on shut-down. Even hanging out with people is something I have been avoiding, and seeing others posting updates with groups of friends was really hard to see. Removing this frequent media exposure has significantly reduced my feelings of anxiety and has made me more appreciative of the happy moments in my day. 

3.    I started visiting other apps more frequently

As soon as I deleted Instagram, I immediately realized I had nowhere else to go to satisfy my habit of checking my phone. I wasn’t ready to go cold turkey on my phone yet so I ended up downloading a few new apps, ones which focused on news or creativity and still had a scrolling feature. These apps were perfect for keeping up to date with current events, and getting my fix of creative inspiration if I needed it. I didn’t get addicted to these new apps because there was no social connectivity aspect to them, which I realize is how Instagram gets you hooked.

4.    I had more time in my day for other activities

Now that I had deleted the most used app on my phone, my average daily screen time went down by 50% from 4 hours to 2 hours which was great to see. Given the circumstances, I think this is a pretty substantial improvement – although pre-quarantine me would probably be mortified at the thought of spending any time over 30 minutes on my phone (who is she?!). Regardless, with all this free time back in my day, I’ve had more time to do my favourite things; going on more runs, having more opportunities to read and spending time with my roommates. I even picked up some old hobbies such as playing tennis, practicing yoga, and writing (ie specifically writing this cheeky article).

This doesn’t mean that I will have Instagram deleted forever. Honestly, falling behind in meme trends is not something I’m ready for, and I really do love to stay connected to see what my friends are up to. However, I definitely think that removing the app from my phone is what I needed to do to stay focused on other aspects of my life, especially since I’m home all the time and falling down this scrolling-until-forever loophole is just too easy. I can see myself checking in on Instagram once a week instead of every day, and if this means having to remove and re-download the app frequently, I’m all for it. This experiment made me realize that at-home entertainment is not limited to low-hanging fruit apps, meant to keep you engaged with media that fulfils your short-term attention span, takes up all your free time and spikes your anxiety. It can be found in simple ways around the house, re-connecting with nature or finding ways to challenge your mind like learning a new skill or re-visiting old hobbies.

The first step to getting your eyes unglued off of your phone is realizing that life is probably better without it. After all, the best types of people are “bad texters”. :)