Social Media Detox

Written By Kristina Keeter

THE CATALYST 

From my morning pages on Sunday 11/17/24:

“Last night I deactivated my Instagram and turned my phone on grayscale so I’ll hopefully be less likely to reach for it, especially when I’m feeling anxious.”

When I left (deactivated) Instagram for 5 weeks back in November-December of 2024, I wasn’t even looking at it that much. I had moved the icon three swipes away from my homepage, so I would really have to work to find it (in the last couple of years I started moving the app icon on a regular basis, so my mind wouldn’t get too used to where it lived).

I had once considered Instagram a magic ecosystem of inspiration, information, connection, and ideas. But with the proliferation of advertisements, memes, reposted TikTok dances, reels, and marketing culture, it became something else entirely. So I started by setting a daily 30-minute limit within the “time management” section of the app. Instagram let me know when I was close to reaching the limit, but it was pointless, since I could just click “remind me in 5 minutes,” “remind me in 15 minutes,” or “ignore limit for today.”

After a while of using the app this way (months? years?), it became clear to me that the problem wasn’t the amount of time that I was using it, but HOW I was using it: as a distraction from my own life, as a salve for my anxiety or boredom in specific situations, as a dopamine hit when I had nothing else exciting going on. 

Some scenarios when I’d find myself checking and mindlessly scrolling:

  • In the car at a red light

  • Waiting in line anywhere

  • At work with nothing to do (or while eating lunch)

  • At a family gathering (instead of helping to cook or clean or engaging in any meaningful discussion)

  • Walking down the street

  • While procrastinating putting my laundry away or doing any number of things I’d rather avoid

  • Before bed (after already watching 2 hours of TV with my partner)

  • While in bed (even though the screen light is bad for sleep)

  • Waiting for friends to meet me at a restaurant / eating at a restaurant / waiting for food or drinks at ANY kind of restaurant, bar, or similar environment

In reality, these are all times in which I felt anxious, under-stimulated, or avoidant. And all scrolling social media/networking apps are designed to be a distraction from these feelings.

They are designed to addict us, to steal our focus with their attention-economy business models, and to negatively affect our brains and cognitive processes.

Another excerpt from my morning pages which led to me taking a break:

“I feel less intelligent than I ever have before…my phone makes me feel stupid, like one of millions — a herd of sheep — following the scroll of what social media (the algorithm) wants me to look at and find important...I keep forgetting simple words…my brain has turned to mush; I haven’t been using it, because I’ve been distracting myself for 15 fucking years with stupid pointless videos and ads and useless, truly WORTHLESS information! Social media and my phone have really fucked up my brain. I think humans as a whole are so burned out, so zombified from staring at screens all day, we don’t have the energy or mental capacity to think critically anymore.”

YIKES.

So needless to say, I took a break. I didn’t tell anyone, I just deactivated.

With no time frame planned, just as an experiment to see what would happen.

HOW IT WENT

Things I missed most about the app while I was off it: 

  • Connection with friends who sent me messages on a daily basis

  • Updates from local musicians, venues, businesses, and restaurants I follow — including popup shows they had, videos from the shows, special events, menus, and hours

  • Seeing tattoo ideas and fun haircuts and new recipes to try (the things I save most often)

  • Inspiration from writers and artists I love

Things I loved most about my detox (eventually, after the feelings of discomfort wore off): 

Morning pages from Sunday 11/24/24:

“In my first week without instagram, I have gone to two shows (Olive Klug & Adrianne Lenker), have taken multiple walks, have watched less tv, listened to two full audiobooks, and have cooked and fed myself mostly all healthy food. I’ve also done my morning pages almost every day (!)”

Over the five weeks I also:

  • Read more books

  • Slept better

  • Noticed an improvement in my attention span and memory

  • Experimented with new art projects

  • Listened to more podcasts

  • Started going to therapy again

  • Wrote more

  • Spent less money on stupid targeted ads

  • Got an ADHD diagnosis

  • Participated in more community spaces (like Landscapes, the AMAZING writing group I’m part of)

  • Felt more connected to my real-time life instead of thinking about how I could post about it

  • Paid more attention to my pets and my loved ones

  • Was generally more productive in terms of getting things done around the house (although the topic of “productivity” being the goal of anything is a whole other conversation for another time)

HOW I WILL USE SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE FUTURE

My wishes and desires moving forward:

It’s been about a month and a half since I logged back in to Instagram; I haven’t posted anything to my feed or stories. I only log in occasionally, and mostly it’s just to see what my friends have messaged me or to look up something specific. This app will now only exist for me as a way to stay updated with friends, local businesses, and accounts/artists/other creatives I truly love and want to keep following (as long as they still exist there).

Many of them also frequently post great community organizing/activist resources/links which I find super helpful in this shitty current moment (in the US). To stay informed of news I will read or watch or listen to it when I choose, instead of being bombarded by it in a frequency and manner which I never wanted or consented to. 

I have also archived all of my posts. I have no desire to post again except to make a highlight sharing this blog post you’re reading now, at the bottom of which you can sign up for my monthly newsletter (that’s where I will share more in-depth life updates from now on.) I am truly inspired by Kening Zhu’s idea of website as world: a personal place to exist on the internet that is fully mine. So if somebody wants to find me all they have to do is look me up and there I will be, in my own little ecosystem I’ve created for myself. 

In regards to other platforms, I also want to note that I only have Facebook so I can use Marketplace to sell things; I rarely check it and don’t have the app installed on my phone. Luckily, I never had Twitter/“X” or TikTok, and thank GOD because I think it would be even harder to detangle myself from multiple platforms! I thought about starting a Substack for my writing but after some community education realized that 1. It is not a place aligned with my values and 2. It’s still a platform which ultimately I have no control over. 

FURTHER RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

There are SO MANY good and informative resources out there now for pausing or quitting social media/our phones in general, but here are a few that really helped me as an artist and writer:

If you are feeling addicted or dependent on any social media platforms and are thinking about deactivating, I highly recommend it (and if you’re scared of taking the leap, just remember you can always log back in — all of your info will still be there)! Based on my own personal experience, I’d recommend doing it for at least 2-4 weeks to get over the uncomfortable bit, to the point where you don’t feel like you’re actually missing out on anything at all.

Pay attention to when your autopilot-finger takes you to where the app icon exists on your phone. What is going on around you when you do this? Try to sit in the discomfort of whatever it is you’re feeling — the longer you’re off it, the less you’ll feel the pull.

Kristina Keeter
Next

The Makings of a Home