Five Things I Learnt From Deleting Instagram

Holly Blackmore

1. No one really cares if you don’t go to the party. People would tag me in things for maybe a fortnight after I went inactive, then it was silent. Your online presence is a facade, most people only engaging with it on near-surface levels.

2. Aesthetics can be debilitating (maybe it’s a Virgo thing) if you give them space/permission to be. I’d spend hours working out what image should go next in my grid, tinkering with VSCO cam. It’s taken a long time but I’m slowly learning how to let go of such perfectionist pursuits.

3. More of a question, but - why do we give others so much permission to comment upon our lives? If your Instagram post is seen, maybe liked, it has been (subconsciously) compared to every image on the viewer’s feed before it. You are not any of these people. Your individual journey should not be subjected to such contextual gratification.

4. Man, that app has a hold on us. The withdrawals are fucking real. Social media is inspiring, transformative - no doubt. I just keep having to remind myself that my mental health is thanking me, my eyes and skin and body are thanking me for stepping away. 

5. I’d been in a pretty deep creative rut for almost eighteen months, but that disappeared almost immediately. Now words just seem to flow out of my head, and I find myself writing on sticky notes, on the backs of receipts, wherever and whenever inspiration strikes. This is a huge one for me - the main reason why I don’t see myself going back anytime soon.

What does your relationship with Instagram look like? Is there anything you want to change?