Final nail in the coffin - digital minimalism
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r/minimalismu/DELETED (536)

Last month I deleted my Instagram.

Over the past couple of years Iā€™ve been slowly minimizing my addictive digital life bit by bit. FaceBook, Snapchat and other apps were honestly very easy for me to let go of but there was always one app I couldnā€™t quite get rid of..and that was Instagram. I made every excuse to keep it, telling myself that somehow it contributed to my life. Instagram is a heavily image based experience which has always appealed to me, I would get sucked into the mindless scrolling. Using it as an escape mechanism.

I havenā€™t been without social media in 17 years (not including YT and Reddit) since I created a MySpace account in middle school. MySpace was this brand new world for me where after school you got to maintain interaction with all of the people you knew, it was incredible. You werenā€™t bombarded by ads, reels and other junk. At some point everyone left MySpace to explore the new world of FB which was equally awesome at the time. But.. we started to get ads, reels and things you didnā€™t even subscribe to popping up on your ā€œfeedā€. Once FB bought Instagram the same thing happened. These platforms were turned into tools that use us, not the other way around.

Its been a weird few weeks following my departure from social media, being the first time since I was a kid in the 90ā€™s where I havenā€™t had constant digital distraction. My brain was freaking out trying to replace it with some source of new stimulation. The best thing Iā€™ve found is to convert that desire for stimulation into things you TRULY love doing in life and putting more time into your actual relationships. As soon as I deleted Instagram itā€™s like I woke from a deep slumber, confronted with so many things I had been avoiding. So many questions about myself that needed answers.

Since then I have been avidly learning a new instrument, reading lots of books, learning to cook Japanese food, exercising more, and got more focused on camping and hiking which is my favorite hobby. I wanted to write all of this because perhaps itā€™s something the right person needs to hear to take that scary step into the unknown and get rid of Instagram for good. Hope this helps!

Comments (86)

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Couldnā€™t have said it any better.

Here's a book recommendation that I think will really mesh with your experience--check out Stolen Focus by Johann Hari. It's really eye-opening and will probably confirm and reinforce your decisions regarding social media.

Going to put this on my kindle asap, thanks for the suggestion!

You can also read radical attention by Julia bell. She wrote a book about the same topic 2 years ago already. Itā€™s really good and a short and small essay, so easily to follow if your attention span is destroyed by the algorithms

I second this. Itā€™s a brilliant book. Read it a few times and also listen regularly to Johann reading it via audible. Highly recommend.

Awesome. Iā€™m currently in the same phase as well though I deleted it only a couple of weeks back. I found very difficult to do it immediately as in ā€œquit and forgetā€. So I had to slowly be in ā€œrehabā€ - as in I delete it, if I feel an urge again Iā€™ll install it for an hour max and delete it again. The gap between installation and uninstallation became quite large and now I believe I can stay the course permanently. Thank you for sharing - youā€™ve definitely motivated me to keep to this.

That seems like a solid approach, I feel like I had actual withdraws the first week. When I started I left my phone in the car overnight to avoid temptations. I think itā€™s a serious addiction akin to cigarettes or something like that. Good luck on the road ahead, let me know how it plays out!

Kudos to you for getting off almost every platform. It doesn't sound like it was easy.

Reddit is still considered social media though. So you're not 100% cured of it, lol.

Thanks! Reddit at least has some real utility I feel and the beauty of being able to hide most of what you donā€™t want to see on the app. For now.. until Zuck buys the platform haha

About to say the same about Reddit. Although I still use YouTube for instructional videos and avoid interactions on the comment section.

Same here, I still use YouTube because I actually make videos but hardly consume content on there

I usually use Reddit for info about things I like,like gaming news and help with fixing on cars and such. I just like being part of the online community of helpful people and a little bit of banter here and there. I freed myself from everything but Reddit and YouTube but they are both so informative that I have no need in getting rid of them.

I deleted Instagram and Snapchat a few months ago because it was distracting me from school too much and giving me fomo and anxiety.

I have since had no regrets and actively try and get my friends to follow suit. I text, call, and FaceTime those that I wish to stay in touch with. I donā€™t need to see what acquaintances are doing 24/7 and they donā€™t need to see what I am doing 24/7.

I somewhat miss out on gatherings and planning sometimes, but it is worth the cost. If my friends truly want me to take part in something, they know how to reach me.

Iā€™m taking advantage of the chaos at Twitter to wean myself off that. Never had FB. Trying to use the ā€œonly check twice a dayā€ for email and Reddit.

One tip: change iPhone screen from color to b/w. Easy setting. Makes it less appealing!

What is most appealing about Twitter for you? I never really got into it. Also thatā€™s a great tip!

Lots of professional contacts on it sharing info. But over time we all found LinkedIn to be better, and not filled with all the other nonprofessional crap.

Ditto about Twitter although I was naturally weaning off of it before this whole Elon thing happened. Got rid of FB last month. Never got into TikTok really. Not counting Reddit, Instagram is the last one to go, but itā€™s becoming surprisingly hard to let go, partly bc thatā€™s the one my partner primarily uses so we share a lot of posts on it.

TikTok is far more addictive than FB or IG. Count yourself lucky you never got into it.

Yeah, I missed the whole Vine era too but I think Instagram has something similar and I admit those can sometimes lead me down a rabbit hole.

Changing phone screen to b&w is incredibly helpful! Iā€™ve been doing that.

Congrats on your newfound freedom. Itā€™s scary how much potential can be realised when social media timesinks are removed, I wonder how many things people arenā€™t doing that theyā€™d love, if they werenā€™t tethered to the phone screen. Iā€™ve been off and on insta a few times, itā€™s very hard to break away from. Only reason I got it back was to find local services e.g. tattoo, makeup artists etc. but I donā€™t follow more than a handful of close friends and barely post so it feels like a good distance. The feed is minimal!

Good for you. Made the same transition myself away from facebook and instagram. reddit is my only holdout.

I don't miss FB or instagram. Not one bit.

Social media is a drug, and a huge waste of time. I quit Facebook two years ago and I do not miss it one bit. I craved it while on it, but once you get off it for a few weeks its allure rapidly fades, especially when you discover all the extra time you have to go live a real life.

Awesome!! I think as time goes on youā€™ll find yourself happier and happier with your decision. Iā€™ve been free of social media since March of 2020 (aside from Reddit; I know some people categorize Reddit as social media but it doesnā€™t have that same addictive, toxic pull for me that other platforms do). Cannot imagine going back now.

Thanks! Iā€™m pretty happy, I couldnā€™t imagine being as far as you are down that journey. Congrats to sticking with it! Have you noticed a huge difference in those 2+ years away from it?

The thing I struggle with is the fact that I run photography/media company as my full-time career. I keep telling myself that I need to use social media as an outreach tool to get new clients (which 60% come thru social media)

So itā€™s impossible for my to completely unplug unless I hire an admin that handles all of that. But then thereā€™s the issue that social media management is a service I can sell for to my clients and that forces me back into the ring of fireā€¦

Iā€™ll find balance (I hope) šŸ˜…

Yeah my transition away from social media has made me suck at that part of my job. Luckily the boss just wants to see posts happening and that's it.

That definitely sounds like a harder situation to navigate, youā€™ll find that balance!

Nice!

One thing that can help is a ā€œdate createdā€ date, look at it, realise all the years before when you didnā€™t even know what instagram of Facebook etc was.

Just got rid of Facebook because it just made me mad, upset or overwhelmed each time I scrolled it.

Agreed. I think FB is the worst for getting sucked into arguments and seeing everyoneā€™s drama

Part of my digital minimalsim besides removing myself from "most" social media and almost all email and text notifications from companies who want to sell me something

.... was also to standarize my digital equipment. I have ONE cable type now (got rid of any device that required microUSB (and Apple lightning cable, because I got out of the Apple universe a while back since I don't need it for my work anymore) or any device that requires some special cable that nothing else uses, like my old camera and printer.

. I can charge and transfer everything with USB C now and don't have a bunch of odd cables in drawers.

Iā€™m so happy that you got off social media. But just like you I put YouTube and Reddit in a separate category but honestly itā€™s just a crutch. Iā€™m hoping one day I can get rid of all of them.

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I once thought about deleting YouTube, but when I ended up doing was only subscribing to channels that are educational to avoid getting sucked into rabbit holes. I limit it to what Iā€™m interested in and pay for YouTube premium so I donā€™t have to deal with ads, but I also have found that I am negating my own benefits by disabling both Watch and search history so I still end up with content I donā€™t want. However much of the content i prefer for education is text based in nature so I donā€™t use YouTube that much except when I need a visual aid such as learning to build a solar power system for example. I yearn for the days before video when there existed quality written articles and tutorials but video seems to have become the default these days.

Hopefully one day I wonā€™t need YouTube any longer and will be able to do away with it. Donā€™t much like how much google itself spies on everything and hope to one day not be dependent on google services at all.

I commend you on your solution and self insight. Iā€™ve thought about creating video content but came to realize I prefer the written word much more.

I completely agree. At least we can eliminate the platforms that are most addicting to us and go from there. Itā€™s a long journey

Appreciate the depth and rationale. Iā€™d like to get rid of of IG too, except: the late comer parents who live far away in a diff country recently got into it and weā€™ve been interacting there. One q: when you go on a camping trip or a nice hike, do you take pics? What do you do with those if you do? Share with parents/friends? Ever want to share with distant friends etc? Do you ever go back and look at them?

Thanks! It definitely makes it harder when you interact with family over social media to get rid of it. Also that was definitely the hardest part of leaving social media, I love posting things from my little trips to share with my friends. Over time though I caught myself putting too much focus on getting cool shots instead of enjoying the moment. I do love keeping a file of everything to go back on and reminisce! Do your parents use email frequently, I know itā€™s archaic but you could message them through that? After leaving social media Iā€™ve gotten more into emailing and love the minimal feel of it. Takes ya back haha

I have a Google Drive folder for sharing photos with family. They have access and have saved the link and I can send a quick text or let them know on a phone call to check for recent stuff.

I have group texts with family and closest friends. 99% of your social media ā€œfriendsā€ are there just to be nosey.

I deleted both Instagram and Snapchat after a breakup, and Iā€™ve been totally fine without having them. I it was just toxic for me to be constantly comparing myself to others and at the end of the day I really didnā€™t care about what others were doing. I found tremendous peace in just focusing on myself, like what you did!

Love that! I think you made the right move

More power to you

Love your story. How do you deal with friends and family that keep up with trends. I want to do this but fear FOMO. My wife is ADDICTED to all these apps (not that Iā€™m not) I feel thatā€™s there will be this odd friction for a while after I get rid of my apps.

You definitely may experience some friction. My wife is also on all the social media platforms but that actually works in my favor because she is friends with all of our family and friends on there so she stays in the loop with that stuff. But since Iā€™ve gotten off social media I find myself calling or physically hanging out with people more to catch up on things which feels way more fulfilling than just checking their profiles for the highlights

Mind blown. Thank you

You made one of the wiser decision of your life! Congratz!

I feel really great after deleting and cutting those useless notifications from those apps.

Thanks! Its very liberating indeed

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Thatā€™s a really great point. When meeting most people they will extend their social media handles instead of their email or phone numbers. Itā€™s basically saying that you are just a potential follower to like their content and give them dopamine hits. In my experience, once you add someone on social media that you met in real life youā€™ll probably never speak to them again. Very bizarre.

Iā€™ve deleted the app on and off but I still struggle with keeping in touch with events & whatā€™s happening in my city. Itā€™s not a big city and thereā€™s a lot of independently run events, markets etc that I would miss if I didnā€™t see their story or post. They donā€™t have email marketing because theyā€™re so small. I canā€™t rely on friends to tell me whatā€™s going on soā€¦ I just end up back on it!

You inspired me to delete my other social. Reddit stays, just need to find a way to manage it better lol

Thank you for posting this! Iā€™ve been considering deleting Instagram, and your post is helping to convince me to go for it.

You got this! That first step is hard but after clicking the delete button it feels like a big relief

Iā€™m curious to know if you guys count Reddit as a social media?

I've spent the last year cleaning up my online content, deleting unused app accounts, most recently deleting Twitter. I created a FB account to shop the marketplace and unfortunately many local businesses only advertise on FB. I never post nor reply. Going through my list of old passwords, I was surprised how many active profiles were still out there. The only online social network I use is Reddit.

Deleted Twitter a few years back, and deleted Snapchat 6 months ago.

Been on the fence about deleting Facebook. I never use it but I keep thinking Iā€™ll keep in touch with people on it. (I wonā€™t)

Instagram will be my hardest tbh.

Instagram was the biggest hurdle for me, maybe you could consolidate your social media to just Instagram then slowly take breaks from it until you are comfortable with letting it go. Or just deleting the app from your device. I feel like it was too addicting for me to keep

Ultimately the enjoyment out of the social media is minimal, and itā€™s most likely the algorithms that they spent $$$$ developing that keeps me there. Iā€™m going to verify nothing else is tied to my Facebook this week.

Appreciate the insight.

You mentioning having time for all the things you enjoy is the biggest kicker

Just a question. If you have delated most of your social media accounts. Why not delate reddit?

I hardly check Reddit and Iā€™m only subscribed to two or three subreddits. I also love engaging with the community and like-minded folks on this platform whereas other apps I feel they lack depth and connection with others.

All the reason why I donā€™t let my kids on social media sir. Been here just as long and none of it was helpful in my life so I didnā€™t allow it in there. Wife only uses FB to store pictures really and look back 10 years later when the kids are older. Itā€™s free is about all I can say to keep a record of your lifeā€™s pictures.

Youā€™ve done a good job deleting Instagram.

Instagram is not like they used to be. So many useless ads

It used to be a great app but things definitely took a turn for the worst at some point

Cool. I just keep all of these sites around just in case I need some inspiration. And 99.9% is off the phone. The phone is the bane and the hurdle.

I picked up a dumb phone last year (Punkt MP02). Itā€™s infuriating to use for extended periods of time which is the point. I still use my iPad for app based things but obviously dont tote it around everywhere with me. That has really helped!

Wow. This really struck a chord for me. I want to get away from these things because I recognise that from past times where I left social media and got bored of meaningless distractions but right now Iā€™m finding it so hard because everyone wants to communicate through ig, snap, whatsapp etc. and I have so much work to do in my life that the temptation to swipe through ig is very powerful

Isnā€™t that incredibly strange though, we communicate through the apps and hardly even use our phone or email anymore?

Tbf, I would never use my phone for calls normally. I only really actually call people for work. I have a phone because I want access to information, a tool for note-taking and to-do lists, and as a camera/photo-editor. Of course there are many other utilities but those are my reasons for buying one in the first place.

I don't like to communicate through apps but it's at a minimum very useful and sometimes crucial.

That brings back up the point that we seldom realize just how much the smartphone has replaced for most people. In my experience, when you rely on the phone for any particular major use, it will be difficult to distance yourself from the more damaging uses of the device. When typing something down or looking something up on the phone, it will always be so easy to swipe over to Instagram. That is why it is hard to be digital minimalist piecemeal: a person who does not rely on a smartphone at all will be the surest one to be safe from its negative effects. We forget this. It is true, when we want to communicate, we forget about phone calls, emails and postcards. When we want to write something down, we forget about pens and paper. When we want to look something up, we forget about the desktop or laptop computer, which gives us the information but also the benefit of not accompanying us every waking hour in our pocket. When we want to remember something, we forget about the DSLR or the sketchbook, or worse, we forget we have memories. The smartphone has replaced the Swiss Army knife, but it cannot get the job done for us as well as the multitude of tools it has replacedā€”it simply blends all those tools together.

This is not to say that one should not even attempt to reduce their overuse of technology just because it is difficult. Because it is difficult, it is worth it. We just have to commit to it, acknowledge that it is a major changeā€”and make it.

I think a smartphone can be the right tool a lot of the time, but it is really easy to be diverted from productivity by other apps. I don't think that's unique to the smartphone though. If you use a computer you could quite easily load up YouTube or some other sites and end up negatively overusing that too.

I love writing by hand but a computer or phone makes it easy to share, syncs between multiple devices and backs up, and allows for ultra-fast searching.

I'm going through this as well. Life is better for sure!

Is nice living in reality again!

I never did Instagram or Twitter but I did step away from Facebook almost 1 yr ago.

Now I have replaced all the time I spent on FB on reddit šŸ¤¦ā€ā™€ļø

Step in the right direction I guess? FB was the most toxic of the platforms in my opinion, made it easy for me to let go of

Yes, definitely a step in the right direction.

I applaud you for doing this. I wish I had the power. haha. I have friends and family all around the globe that use various different social media platforms to communicate with.

That must make it super difficult to quit. The communication function of social media for friends and family that are across the world is unmatched. E-mail is always an option, not a popular one though!

Yes for sure. I have recommended email, but no one seems to be on board with it lol. My parents are older immigrants and not technology literate. I have tried multiple times to teach them, but it just does not stick with them. They know enough to function the video call through Facebook.

Good for you!! My digital poison is Facebook. I removed the app from my phone again. My brain deserves better. I start violin lessons this week and picked up a few books.

Congratulations.

I'm appalled by the amount of serious (!) business done on social networks and messaging apps -- in other words, dependant on survival of proprietary platforms whose prospect may not be better than Myspace's (or, worse, Orkut's).

Email preceded smartphones, predated the Web (yes, kids, there is a non-Web internet!), and is still there: Microsoft, Apple, Google or Meta can't phase out something not owned by a single entity. IRC is another pre-Web protocol of outstanding resilience: users just migrate to better servers/networks when service is underachieving.

How free do you feel not having a phone attached as an extra appendage?! Itā€™s such a great feeling. Going for a walk with no phone and no music, sometimes earthing with no shoes. Itā€™s reinvigorating!!

Wow this is the same thing for me! šŸ˜Œ I started realizing I listen to a lot of modern music, which put otherā€™s thoughts into us & I felt like it was distracting me from doing artšŸ˜Š I love traveling/hiking too & I think removing addictive things like music, TV, or social media helps to some extentšŸ˜Œ & allows for more simple & peaceful life šŸ§’šŸ»šŸŒˆšŸ™

Thatā€™s a great observation! I noticed the same thing with music. Thatā€™s why I mostly try and stick to instrumental music when I do listen to something. I used to listen to LOTS of metal which I found put me in an angry/anxious mood constantly. Itā€™s so important to pay attention to what you feed the mind on a daily basis!

Blasphemy. Have you not heard of archiving and compression? I can smuggle hundreds of terrabytes under my testicles, in to and out of North Korea... Digital space is the one place that hoarding is OK. Lmao. As long as you're not making copyright laws around it.

Brilliant post. Thanks for sharing.