Permanently deleting Instagram- FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER!
Hello dearest little readers, yes, you´ve read that right. I finally got away from Instagram´s slimy claws. After a string of messages from people telling me they wish they could do the same, and discreetly asking if “everything is okay”, I thought maybe a blog post would be the most appropriate course of action.
No more likes for me, thank you. Image by @prateekkatyal via unsplash
The decision came after a constant feeling of doom, gloom, and sadness at every turn- very usual when living in this rainy dungeon that is London, but this went deeper. I couldn´t eat without Instagram playing in front of me, just like a dopamine-hungry toddler and their sticky, rubber-clad iPad. Number 2´s just weren´t as satisfying without 7 second videos playing on loop as I pushed. I couldn´t wait to get home from whatever I was doing so I could stick my nose right to that screen and doom-scroll for hours. I didn´t even enjoy it, most of the time I didn´t even process what I was watching, but I couldn´t stop. I realised perhaps social media has even more of a hold on our little ape brains than I thought.
What have we become Image by @andremouton via unsplash
I´ve battled with anxiety a lot, but much more after social media became a very mainstream thing. I always laughed at my mum when she proclaimed the root of every problem to be my phone, but you know what? She wasn´t far off.
Since I´ve come off that app I´ve discovered I quite enjoy sewing, reading, and feature length films. Life feels real again- which sounds dramatic but it´s the truth- and I can sit through entire seasons of series once more so take that, doom scrolling.
I´ve also gotten back to this glorified diary of mine, which has made me feel so accomplished and frankly quite happy, it makes you feel better than everyone else. “What do you do?” “Oh I´m an artist and I run an arts and culture blog”. No I don´t. I write unfiltered diary entries and get my overworked homosexual friends to proofread them.
This is me everytime I finish reading back a new a blog entry. Image by cottonstudios via Pexel
In terms of HOW… well you need to really want it. Spend more and more time away from it, leave your phone on the other side of the room whilst you do something else, don´t take it to the bathroom with you- read the shampoo bottle like we did back in the day. Also, get a hobby or two- and for once I don´t mean this sarcastically. The more time you spend away from it, the easier it starts to become, but as with any addiction you need to replace it with something else. When you can´t get your dopamine fix from scrolling you realise there is a LOT of time in a day, and seemingly nothing to fill it with. The way I see it, there was a world before social media, and there were things to do, places to see, hobbies to take up. What would you be doing right now if social media didn´t exist?
As much as creativity is being showcased throughout the internet in an accesible way, I also think it´s being stifled and stunted due to artists being chained down by the doom scroll. I know mine was.
Find your creativity again, even something as simple as a doodle, putting colours together, playing around with fabrics, scrapbooking, markmaking. Just get yourself started on something that will take you away from it.
Example of a hobby. You can also start by going outside and touching some grass. Image by @olly_p via unsplash
A lot of people seem to have a fear of missing out on business, opportunities, events, or even just life and friends in general. The way I see it, if I´m meant to get an opportunity I will get it- it´s meant for me. Besides, artists, art, the market, galleries, and all this bollocks existed before Instagram turned our brains even smoother, so why should Instagram have any sort of Monopoly over it or my smooth little brain?
Do I feel like I´m missing out? No. Will I open an Instagram account again? Not unless I can afford an overpaid bisexual with questionable tattoos to run it. Youtube on the other hand, I have been considering. After all, it´s just this blog but I get to hear my own voice play back to me as I edit the video. Now there´s a way to spend my Friday nights.
Anyway, I may be off socials but I´m still a social babe, so if you want to get in touch with me you can fill in the neat little form in the “contact” section of my website, or simply drop me an email at one of the provided e-mail addresses in that same section, even just to tell me what you thought of the blog. Old school!
I hope to hear from you guys and as always thanks for reading my internet diary *kiss* *kiss*
