Just over a week ago, I decided to take a break from Instagram. I'm 16, so social media is a pretty integral part of my life, yet I was finding myself feeling overwhelmed and consumed by the constancy of it all.
Here's an outline of what my Instagram habits looked like:
- 7am (Roughly, this is a teenager speaking!) Get up, go downstairs and check phone including Instagram messages and notifications.
- 8/9am eat breakfast and scroll through Reels or posts.
-10/11am look at Instagram whilst on the bus to college.
-11:30 arrive at college early for a lesson and scroll on Instagram like everyone else so as not to look lonely or different to others
- 12-3pm get bored between and sometimes during lessons so begin to scroll Instagram.
-3-4pm bus journey home with Instagram.
You get the idea...
Comparison
Being a teenager, social media is just expected to form a large part of our lives and people see it as the standard. When you're in the cycle, you don't realise the time it sucks from your day and also the constant content you consume. One of the reasons for me deleting Instagram was after having a conversation with a friend who had already deleted it their self. They explained the amount of people they compared themselves with on a daily basis when being on social media, compared to amount they do now. Think about it. I used to spend anywhere from 2-5, maybe sometimes 6 hours a day on Instagram. If I was on Reels that whole time, and spent about 10 seconds looking at one reel, that's 360 reels an hour. Now obviously there aren't people in every single reel, but lets say just half had, every hour I would be comparing myself to 180, nearly 200 people. People who I had never met in my life. Now, the only time I compare myself with people, are when I see them walking down the street. And unlike Instagram, they aren't telling me what they eat in a day, where they buy their clothes from, what their job is or how many friends they have. Comparison is so emotionally draining, yet I used to do it all day, every day.
Living in the moment
I used to be the kind of person who, when they ate something that looked nice, or ordered a coffee with pretty latte art, or saw a beautiful sunset, would immediately take a picture and think about the reaction I was going to get. Now that's all well and good, but sometimes getting caught up with what others think, takes your own joy away and you forget to live in the moment. I guess that's why I called this blog 'One day at a time' because I want to practice and help others to live in the now. I don't mean throw your week's plan in the bin, I just mean take a minute to enjoy today, spend time doing things you like, with people you like and know that you don't have to post your day on Instagram to make it a good day. Knowing yourself that the day you had was good is enough.
Reality
I wont lie to you guys, it's not always easy. For about 3 or 4 days after I uninstalled Instagram, I kept going into my phone when I was bored and looking for the app, finding it wasn't there, turning my phone off, and about 2 minutes later doing it all over again. When something has been so ingrained into your way of life, changing it doesn't happen easily. Now just over a week has passed, I find myself doing it less regularly which is encouraging. It can be done- you can break the cycle.
It takes effort to do, because instead of seeing constant updates of your friends lives, you have to send messages and ask how they are to keep the friendship going. I also found that some people you think are your friends, are only your friends through Instagram- I made a story and sent it to people who followed me explaining I was deleting Instagram and gave them my number. Lots of people I expected to text me, didn't and that was a hard shock. After thinking about it though, I realised I would much rather keep the friends who put effort into my friendship, rather than have 'connivence friendships'.
I'm not saying that deleting Instagram or whatever social media you spend long periods of time on is going to solve all your problems, and it doesn't work for everyone. But since taking the plunge myself, I've noticed myself a lot less caught up in what everyone thinks about my life and definitely less attached to my phone than I used to be. I've started living one day at a time and making the most of what life has to offer. Here's my challenge to you. Make a change. However big, however small you feel is right for you. Make a change that will allow you to enjoy real life, the life that you are living, no one else's, and to begin living life one day at a time.
From a girl who likes coffee.
This is me checking comments work😂