3 Benefits of Breaking Up With Instagram

and how I'm doing it

Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

This past summer, when I recorded a podcast about breaking a bad habit, I made a confession that many people responded to: I was spending WAY too much time on Instagram. It was Reels. Endless, meaningless Reels that I just…kept…watching.

We all know social media is addictive—it’s designed to be. That’s because the more time we spend on social media, the more money other people make. It’s that simple. Social media sells our precious time and attention to advertisers. And us? We’re giving it away for free.

That feels pretty icky. And it's scary when we consider young people’s developing brains that are hooked on that stuff even worse than I was. 

Breaking Up Softly

Did you notice I said “was”? That’s because I’ve been in a soft breakup with Instagram for about two months now. I say “soft” because I took it off my personal phone, but it’s still on my work phone (I work in social media, so that’s not going to change). I still go on my personal Instagram sometimes, but typically, I do that on a computer where I post content to my account and then sneak out the back door.

Maybe it’s cheating, but I like to call it a “soft” breakup, and I’m pretty sure one day I will walk away altogether. That day may be coming soon because reaching people there to share my podcast or this substack motivated me to stay at least a little bit. However, I’ve noticed my posts get very little traction compared to years ago when I was focused on creating content there. I thought this was an amicable breakup, but perhaps IG is mad at me. That’s fair. I’m not playing their game anymore. 

In case you’re thinking about not playing their game too, today I’m sharing three benefits I’ve noticed since leaving Instagram:

I feel more peace.

I cannot overstate this, and if you are even a tiny bit addicted to social media, you know what I mean. You never walk away from a scroll session feeling good. You might feel anxious or sad. You might feel angry or jealous. You might feel an overall sense of BLAH. But you never do feel content, confident, or grateful. That’s because nobody makes money when you feel good. But also, on social media, we see a nonstop barrage of details about other people’s lives and the world at large. We aren’t meant to see and know so much. We are created to exist in our real-world physical environments and communities. Trying to make sense of our place in an endless digital world with all its details is unnatural and stressful.

I’m saving money.

The few times I’ve gone back into social media and scrolled a bit, I realized something that it’s easy to get numb to when you’re on there every day: There’s so much STUFF TO BUY. And it’s not just the ads. Even people you know are selling stuff on there. There’s an endless stream of content that convinces you that your life is not good enough and then quickly follows up with a product you can buy to fix it in just a few clicks. And it’s so tailored to your life and interests that you’ll find yourself clicking. My IG breakup has allowed me to see this content with fresh eyes. If I just put my phone away, I don’t have the problem and don’t need the thing. All set!

I have more time.

This is the big one. Ultimately, this is what made me decide I needed to make a change. We are responsible for how we spend our time, and I started to wonder if I was going to reach the gates of heaven and see a big screen lit up with the number of hours I had spent on Instagram with (here’s the kicker) absolutely nothing to show for it. I want to decide how I spend my time. Instagram doesn’t get to do that. When you’re hooked, you don't realize just how much time you spend glued to your phone, but when you break up, you become aware of how many times a day you reflexively reach for your phone—precious time saved!

In the end, stepping back from Instagram has been one of the best decisions I’ve made for my mental, emotional, and even spiritual well-being. I’m still a work in progress, but the benefits are undeniable. More peace, less consumerism, and a lot more time—these are the gifts I’ve received by reclaiming control over my attention. If you’re feeling the pull to step away too, I encourage you to consider a soft breakup of your own. Start small, take it slow, and see what kind of freedom awaits you on the other side.