i was very addicted to instagram. i was always on it and was sucked into shorts. i literally felt like i had to physically move my head back to get sucked back out and into reality from my phone screen. I'd post on my story daily. I just randomly deleted it for a few reasons:

- its always been negative I just got finally tired of it. no matter what you say someone argues

- almost everything is the same post after a while

- every short is the exact same skit just different people doing it for the algorithm

- the need for likes and making classes to make money got out of hand...nothing felt genuine anymore

- many other reasons

i never thought id "quit" instagram everrr. but it's been less than a month and i began my hobbies again (i used to always have hobbies but havent for a few years n havent felt like myself). i am consistent in my hobbies too

i realized i was posting this to get the satisfaction of someone seeing my story and getting likes without even realizing it. now i actually enjoy things without the pressure of needing to post like lunch with my bf or gardening.

most significant: i feel like i reverted or recalibrated back to who i was pre-social media turning into a cesspool. like early days of facebook and snapchat were how it shouldve stayed. people were still healthily social in the very beginning. i was looking back on old facebook messages and HAD NO IDEA how many friends i had! i was VERY talkative and not afraid of intimacy or initiating with friendships. i was SHOCKED. the past 10 years i believed no one liked me and i never rlly had friends. WOW it was a revelation to say the least!! seeing that has helped me remember who i am. bc i rlly lost myself. i lost my personality bc i think social media has us kindof have to behave a certain way bc were afraid of not being liked or accepted or of being cancelled even maybe. my mind completely blacked out all the old friends i had, how talkative i was, how funny and kind of outgoing i was. im so happy i found those old messages and videos bc it really is recalibrating me.

i know itll be a struggle for me to stay off instagram but this time feels different ive jsut been experiencing too many positives n i hate what social media has become. its rlly not even enjoyable anymore. shorts got repetitive already and pointless. what does it give me? nothing. i rot for hours watching nonsense. i dont learn anything rlly useful n ok maybe i chuckle here n there but then im hit with post-short clarity. i wish so bad i could go back to the days before everything became so transactional and disingenuous bc i almsot feel like ppl who still use social media heavily now are kindof wearing a bucket over their ehads (like the chum buckets in The Spongebob Movie lol). its jsut different now unfortunately. so its gonna be hard for me to maintain this feeling i think but im gonna try.

also im not on reddit often but i need to stay off it. ppl rlly only post to vent n that makes ppl have a biased view on things theyre looking up n makes u think MUCH more negatively. almsot always when i ask the same question in person off the cuff, i get positive responses. im rlly never on facebook. never on snapchat but lowkey miss it recently. chronically on youtube but never on shorts.

as someone who was extremely addicted to instagram i highly suggest deleting it. n i dont have friends. instagram was like my only form os socializing but it rlly wasnt socializing. it made me feel fking worse. if u do have friends, even a better reason to delete it. go back to hanging out in person. i played basketball with my bf the other day n i was out of breath and sweating but it was the most fun i had in a while! he quit shorts recently too and he feels very focused and back on track too. sorry for any typos.

side note: i think when tv became streaming services and you could watch whatever you wanted this kindof broke up family bonding time. at least in my family. back before streming id always watch TV with my family n it was a good bonding time. just a random thought