Instagram Analysis and The Break ...

Hi. I hope you are having a good day.

In this post, I wanted to discuss / ramble about my ongoing break away from the social media platform I used the most. And that is Instagram.

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I have not been on Instagram since last year. I decided at the end of 2019 to uninstall Instagram and I haven't been on Instagram since. It's not the most biggest or shocking revelation in the world however I felt like I needed a break away from the world of Instagram. I used and posted on Instagram the most out of all of my social media platforms, so I knew it was going to be a tough break, and I knew I would definitely feel the effects from it. Instagram is meant to be the most damaging social media platform to a persons mental health and although I am in a good place in 2020, I wanted to throw myself in at the deep end and see what would happen if I didn't go on it.

My collage of photos currently
displayed on my drawers!

I used Instagram the most out of all of my social medias as it was a space where I could post photos I loved, and basically have a collection of all of my favourite photos in one space. I would also print the photos that I posted on Instagram to include as a part of my own personal photo collection... I print photos around once every 6 months and I also have a massive collage spread in my room which features photos from the past year. I'm a big fan of having prints of photographs, it is really nice to hold a physical print in my hand compared to just looking at it on an electronical device, hence why I use my Instax camera a lot. I like to try to keep my photos as natural as possible and this is why I don't use filters on my photos any more, however I do adjust the brightness and contrast, and the sharpness to enhance the quality of a photo at times.

With Instagram especially, I feel there is this unspoken thing where people sometimes post to show how brilliantly amazing their lives are. I'm guilty of it too, and hold my hands up. We all are. Who wants to see me washing up or constantly trying to keep the house clean? I'm pretty sure no one would!

On the other hand, I don't really feel the pressure to showcase everything that I do when I go out and do great things. I'd say a good 95% of what I do in my day-to-day life isn't posted on social media. And that is absolutely fine with me, it's great to just enjoy the moments you have. I've been doing that a lot recently, I've been going out, having good times and not worrying about posting these times on the internet. And I've honestly had a better time for it. I've been out for quite a few evenings and nights this year already, and they have been truly entertaining. It's been fun.

One of the many drunken nights
I've had so far this year...

Instagram also has this unspoken thing where everyone posts "perfect" photos for a "perfect" feed, making it look like their life is "perfect." When everyone starts to post about the brilliant parts of their brilliantly amazing lives, and then filters the photos to make them look even more perfect and brilliantly amazing... it becomes an unrealistic reality. Essentially it's fake. 99% of social media platforms are fake. It's not an accurate representation of someones life. And after everyone has finished posting their brilliant parts of their brilliantly amazing lives, perfectly filtered... you then start to subconsciously question your own life and make comparisons, even when you don't mean to. Which is not fun, and you don't even realise you are doing it. It can start off from the smallest thing... in some cases it can make you feel more depressed inside, it makes you question yourself, every aspect of your life and your self worth. And it can get even worse than that in some cases, social media can be a big cause of mental health issues, depression and anxiety. I feel like people can also be judgemental when it comes to posting, people judge other peoples lives just by the photos you are posting. Social media is not an accurate representation of an individual's life by any means, it only reflects the parts that the user wants people to see.

My last Instagram post...
Watching a beautiful sunset over
where I live on one of
 the last days of 2019!

I want to quickly clarify now that I don't think Instagram is all bad. It is a great way to see what your loved ones are doing, a great platform to connect with others as well as being a platform which allows you to post whatever you want. It's a platform where you have the freedom of expression, which is easily accessible to a wide variety of people from different walks of life.

The time you spend on Instagram is also recorded in a time tracker part on the app. I was spending between 15-45 minutes per day on Instagram. Add that up for a week, two weeks, a month.... That's a lot of time wasted and unaccounted for. Just sitting there and scrolling through a never-ending feed of other people's perfectly filtered lives. When you put it like that, it's not healthy nor does it sound very enjoyable. I love seeing other people happy don't get me wrong... When I see other people post about things that make them happy, it is fantastic. I am happy when others are happy, I'm a big believer in people doing things that make them happy. However looking at it from a different perspective, spending a substantial amount of time looking through other peoples filtered photos and videos can leave you with a sense of isolation, loneliness and a lack of self worth. As you are subconsciously comparing your life to someone else's life (aka someone else's highlight reel) and it's not healthy for your brain. Some people become addicted to Instagram and other social medias, and it's scary how much social media can affect how you feel about yourself as a person.

And the worst part about it is that social media platforms are created to be addictive to the human mind. Research has also proven that checking social media platforms have more addictiveness than dopamine. This was also another reason why I decided to uninstall Instagram. I honestly felt I was becoming more addicted to this platform, and I could tell by increased time on Instagram. I was checking my feed more often and the tracker would reflect that. And for what? Most of the time I would be refreshing and nothing had changed since the last time I checked.

My most liked Instagram post of 2019
A pub crawl kayak selfie!

There had also been a change on Instagram where Instagram has this algorithm that only the "most liked" posts would show on someone's news feed. I am not sure if this has changed however it brings the discussion of likes into this post. By changing the algorithm, I think it sends out a massive message out there, saying that likes are important to be seen and noticed on Instagram. If you don't receive hundreds of likes on a photo, your posts aren't going to be seen and your post will get lost in the hundreds of other posts. Which is the completely wrong message in my eyes especially to an impressionable young audience where it is seen as if you don't get hundreds of likes, it's not worth posting. Because of that algorithm, I've missed friends posts in the past which does suck. I think the algorithm should be built on showing posts from pages you like the most first, rather than the posts which a majority likes first.

I think in this day and age, with the younger generation being on social media, likes can be considered a symbol of self worth. Going back to the dopamine thing, when you receive a notification that someone has liked a photo you have posted, you feel a "buzz". The more likes you get, the more "buzzed" you feel, and it's more likely other people will see your posts. If you post a photo which has less engagement, you may feel less self worth. Likes have become a symbol, a validation of self worth which I think can affect the mental health of a variety of people, especially people who may seek self validation from others. This has been researched by a Harvard University researcher called Trevor Haynes, who concluded that whenever anyone receives a social media notification, the brain releases dopamine which makes the person feel good.

For me, I post my favourite photos which makes me happy on Instagram. I have posted in the past, and if it doesn't look quite right on my feed, I will delete it. Which is mad because I love my random assortment of photos. My photos aren't perfect, but I do love my random collection of photos that I have on my Instagram, as well as my photo gallery on my phone.

It's much easier said than done to say "I'm quitting social media forever." I don't want to necessarily quit all social medias at the time of writing as although social media does have a lot of negative effects, the positive part about social media is that it's easy and accessible to keep in contact with people when needed. Hence why I am not forever quitting Instagram and will return at some point.

31/12/19 🍹

However this break has been more beneficial to me than I first thought. I uninstalled Instagram on the last day of 2019. Admittedly I was tipsy in the afternoon which continued into the early hours of the morning, but I was a fantastic type of tipsy. I've been in a very good place recently, as well as having a reasonably positive mindset which has been fantastic. And it's continued into 2020. I was feeling so happy, reflecting back on the year and I was reflecting on myself as a person (as some people do at the end of a year) and decided I didn't need Instagram to necessarily make me happy. Therefore it was uninstalled and I still haven't looked back.

I was fed up with the amount of time I was spending scrolling through Instagram. I was fed up of scrolling through a sea of people's perfect lives. I was fed up of being judged for whatever I posted. I wanted to go into 2020 without Instagram, to become more connected with the real world rather than a world where everything has to be perfectly filtered.

The first few days without Instagram were strange. When I was bored, I'd go over to the place where the app was on my phone and subconsciously click in that spot without even realising I was doing it. Which I found pretty scary because I didn't even realise how much I'd tap in the same place when I got bored. I felt like I was missing a part of my social life, I was missing seeing what others were posting and I felt I had lost a platform of communication. It made me feel more isolated, which is crazy how the deletion of a social media app can manipulate emotions like that as I knew I wasn't isolated. I knew I wasn't lonely as I was actually seeing family and friends more regularly. I felt it the most the first two days, and I got more used to not checking it.

After a week of no Instagram, I was feeling the effects. I was missing it, I'll admit. I was wondering what I was missing out on, however I wasn't wondering so much that I wanted to install Instagram again. It was a weird feeling of missing Instagram, yet also enjoying being away from it. It was refreshing, and it gave me a bit more of a clearer head. I felt like I wasn't comparing myself to others and I was just living my own life the way I wanted to. And I was happier for it. I was using my time more productively, I was going out and doing more things and I didn't feel like I needed to post just to let people know what I am doing, who don't necessarily care. It felt like I was doing more things for my own benefit.

After two weeks, I was used to not having Instagram. I was used to not going on there, I was used to not checking my feed. I didn't feel like I needed it for keeping in contact with people, or the wider world. It made me realise I didn't need it. I went out a lot in January, I saw friends on a very regular basis and I can honestly say that it just cleared my mind completely. I felt happier within myself.

And now, it's been over a month and I'm still not fussed by the fact I haven't been on Instagram since 2019.
I first said to myself I'd have a break away from Instagram for a few days, however it's been almost two months and I'm not eagerly anticipating to have Instagram back. I will download it again at some point soon, I definitely haven't said goodbye to it forever. To tell you the truth, I don't miss it that much. I spent a lot of wasted time scrolling through Instagram which I will never get back. It never really made me feel completely happy or fulfilled as a person, and since being away from it for a decent amount of time I've realised that. I will return to Instagram one day very soon, however my time spent on Instagram will be reduced for sure!

So yeah, it's all good...

Amy