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The Importance OF AN Instagram Detox
@shaymitchell
Imagine trying to explain Instagram to Rose on the Titanic as she stood at the edge of the boat with her hot new boy toy, arms out, flying into the sunset on the greatest transatlantic voyage ever. Would she have had a selfie stick, used a timer, or asked Jack to capture the cinematic moment? “Babe, can you take another one? I don’t like my arms in this.”
Okay, we know that Rose and Jack are fictional characters — but then again, so are some of our favorite people on Instagram. Social media provides a curated feed of perfect moments, all brightened, saturated and contrasted to present us in the very best light. We know it, we accept it, we engage in it, and yet we let Instagram (and other social media apps) dictate how we feel more often than we would like.
Taking a break from social media can be hugely important for your mental health. According to Doctor Cengiz Sahin, “Individuals who spend too much time on social media have a desire to be notified of anything immediately, which can cause virtual tolerance, virtual communication, and virtual problems. Behaviors that force the person into these actions can be explained as social media addiction.” Not great, my darlings.
So let’s talk about some of the benefits of taking a detox from Instagram.
The art of allowing to be — and being — present
Sure, engaging in an Instagram detox feels weird at first. Whether you’re walking down the street, waiting for the next train, or sitting in your dentist’s office trying to tune out the whine of the hygienist’s drill, your finger unconsciously hovers over the app, your brain desperate to scroll through the feed and reels as you transition from one activity to the next.
But being present is a hugely important skill for us as humans to cultivate, especially as many of our jobs revolve around being active digitally. Fostering human connections, appreciating our surroundings, and generally engaging with the world around us all take a backseat when we’re double tapping on an influencer’s outfit or zooming in on the new vacation pic our ex just posted.
Being present can change our surroundings and our life all together. It can change our brain activity, and in return, change our reality. The skill of pure consciousness (which is also our essence) is so important, and something we should aim to connect to more often, especially first thing in the morning and before we sleep.
Loving you for you
Instagram is a fun leisure activity (and one growing in popularity, according to this study conducted in 2016), especially when it connects you to people around the world. How cool that we get to see photography from far away places, interesting food being prepared right before our eyes, and hair and makeup styles created by talented up-and-coming creators? But as we know, Instagram overuse can cause something that is seriously detrimental to our mental well-being: comparing ourselves to others. It can also increase our likelihood of depression as we begin to feel inadequate.
Instagram travel pics, fitness accounts, beautifully photographed date nights, and even pictures of people’s gorgeous homes can all trigger an energetic and chemical bodily imbalance that leads to what we humans call “jealousy.” To be exact, this is an imbalance in our heart chakra, hence our reminder to “love you for you” as we compare ourselves to others. I mean, we’re given a window to look into, and then we turn around to look at our own lives, which are not presented in all their filtered goodness.
Avoid getting entangled with low self-esteem or basing your self-worth off metrics. Embrace your higher self by envisioning what that looks like for you first thing in the morning, and set intentions for yourself instead of reaching out for the phone and feeding your eyes and brain the wrong data.
It’s okay to take a break if you notice you’re starting to feel the pressure of keeping up with what everyone else is doing, or if you feel like you “should” be doing something else. Loving yourself is the most important thing, so be wary of how you feel if you’re basing your self-worth off an app!
Productivity rising
Use it; don’t allow it to use you. Social media can be a fabulous tool for education, business, and marketing. But allow yourself to set boundaries! Yes, boundaries are not only for people; they are also for things that can drain our energy, which should be channeled properly towards our goals, passions, and love.
The best way to get yourself out of addictive scrolling is to remember how it’ll feel after you put down the phone. As you close on an hour or two of cycling through your favorite apps, consciously make the decision to stop, knowing that this is not how you want to feel, and that you deserve to feel better. A good trick is to schedule your social media usage when it’s a part of your goal-achieving process.
It’s not forever!
Look, we love social media. It connects us to loved ones far and near, and is an incredible tool to grow your brand, your business, and to just have fun. But just like a detox of the body, having an Instagram detox allows for a reset of the brain. Taking a break allows for more mindful engagement rather than zombie-like scrolling.
We know that you want to go find that picture-perfect moment on the end of a boat and just enjoy it without having to tweak the filter … Just watch out for the icebergs!
Some social media detox apps to try
Moment is a simple app that helps you track and manage how much time you spend on your phone. You can set time limits, enable reminders, and enable automatic shut-offs. If you like, you can even set up Moment family-wide. The app runs in the background and will automatically manage your family’s custom phone limits — which can come in handy during dinner time.
The AntiSocial app is a social media tracking app that identifies how much time you spend on apps. With an easy-to-read chart, you can view the amount of time spent on Facebook, Instagram, emails, games, and other apps. Users can even set a daily limit for each app — meaning, you could ask the app to shut down Facebook after 30 minutes of activity. The app also compares your usage to other app users to help you gauge how “normal” your usage is.
Forest is a motivation-based app that encourages you to stay off your phone by appealing to those who care about the environment. The app allows you to plant virtual trees and earn coins when you disconnect for an allotted period of time. Once users earn enough coins, they can spend them to help plant real trees in Cameroon, Kenya, Senegal, Uganda, and Tanzania. The app will also scold you if you fail to stay offline.
Shutup uses a competitive design to help people with their digital detox by encouraging them to invite friends to compare activity using the app’s timer. The user that holds out on checking their phone the longest wins. There’s also a self-competition mode for those who prefer to compete against themselves.
