My Thumb Still Reached for Instagram
Two weeks after deleting all social media apps from my phone, and I’ve never been this bored, clear-headed, or productive.
I deleted Instagram and LinkedIn from my phone. Finally.
For the first week, I’d reach for my phone, unlock it, and swipe straight to where the IG app used to live. Muscle memory.
I knew it wasn’t there. But my hand goes rogue. Autopilot.
I felt like a junkie looking for a hit, scrambling around the empty spot where the stash once was. Even though I’ve already flushed it down the toilet.
In my case, though, I hid a secret stash of IG on my iPad so I can check messages and memes. Yup, you can still send me reels. It’ll just take me longer to laugh at them. No biggie.
(Wondering why I’m cutting down on social media? Read my past post about the attention economy.)
The Numbers
I’d already cut usage by about 20–30% after switching my phone to grayscale. But it still wasn’t enough.
The week before I deleted Instagram:
Total screen time: 22h 20m
Daily average: 3h 11m
Instagram alone: 5h 39m (The week before that I was at 4h 42m.)
First week without IG on my phone:
Total weekly: 16h 29m
Daily average: 2h 21m
Second week (Mon–Fri only):
Total: 15h 36m
Daily average: 2h 36m
The big win:
Instagram use is down to LESS THAN 2 HOURS TOTAL per week.
Less than 20 minutes a day. 🏆
What took over all the IG time?
Playing the Bubble Cloud game. LOL. I just swapped one addiction for another. 😅 But at least I do that while listening to podcasts or “watching” crime series. Heehee.
Next up, I’ll go on more walks while listening to my fave podcasts.
Do I miss it?
Honestly, not really.
Mikel shows me enough funny memes on his phone. 😆
And I’d much rather be bored than doomscrolling.
I haven’t touched my coloring book in a while.
I need to check on my dying plants.
I can bake more. (Already made banana bread!)
I should write on my blog more, too… like now. 🥳
Crisis Mode
In the past 2 weeks, I’ve heard from two friends about their own existential life crises.
They’re my age, both with kids, both with great lives… and still looking for something more, or something different.
Life, I guess. 🤷
I feel like I’m in a perpetual career crisis. So, I kinda get it.
I’m 39 and still constantly figuring things out.
I’m grateful I’m currently doing work I enjoy (even if there’s a low hum of fear that the rug can be pulled from under me at any time. Layoff trauma!). Oh, and luckily I currently don’t have to work with social media!
But maybe my career crisis keeps life interesting. That, and using my time on the activities and people that make me feel like I can show up as my 100% self, whether that means loud, sparkly, chatty today and quiet, introverted, don’t-mind-me tomorrow. 🙃
Are you in some sort of life crisis?
Don’t beat yourself up. You are not alone. There are loads of us!
What has always helped me:
Spend some time getting to know the world and connecting with it.
Take yourself out of your regular stomping grounds and into a place that’s completely different. An alien world.
Appreciate the sound of the waves, the spray of the sea breeze, the calls of wild birds, the silence. 🌊
Appreciate life’s gifts, its curses, and everything in between.
Seek a life you adore, filled with moments that make you smile, laugh, cry.
You might not know for sure what you want next. And that’s okay.
That’s part of the fun.
You’ll probably make mistakes. And that’s great.
That means you’re learning. That means you’re moving forward.
We don’t have much time on this earth. And the older we get, the faster time flies. So just live the life you want. For you.
And if you’re not sure what that is, chase experiences that excite you.
Maybe even do something that scares the crap outta you.
You won’t regret it.
“Movement is life.”
Maybe the crisis shows up when we lack movement?
When we keep our heads down too long?
When the daily grind becomes automatic?
When we lose our sense of agency.
I’m relieved to have never stayed stuck for too long.
There’s always been a big change: a job, a relationship, a continent 🌍
Movement is life, right?
Two weekends ago, we went to Lecumberry in France for our friend Eñaut’s birthday. (I’ve missed small, quiet towns.)
We were surrounded by sheep, cows, horses. Homemade cheese. The Pyrenees. The kind of stillness you might see on a reel, but won’t really feel.
I do enjoy the city. But I love the simplicity in the outskirts.
Though… I think it all boils down to community.
Hell is other people, sure. But the best life is built around your kind of people.
I love my life here. Yes, because of the views, the food, the beach and the mountains, the fact I don’t need a car, and ‘coz there seems to be less classism.🤔
But whether chaotic city, quiet town, or some place in between, what I now take into consideration is the people I’ll have around me.
Here I have amazing, kind, down-to-earth folks that are easy to just be with. Most of us share the same values and have similar measures to what a great life looks like.
That’s a big reason why I don’t miss Instagram.
I don’t want any distractions from my real life.
For those farther away that I want to stay close to, there’s WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber, and phone calls.
That’s enough, right?
Guess what?
I’ve written this whole post while sitting beside Mikel… who’s been scrolling through Instagram the entire time 😂