i deleted instagram for 2 months. here’s what actually happened.

i’ve always joked that instagram is my toxic boyfriend. i know it’s bad for me, but somehow i keep going back. the mindless scrolling, the comparing, the random dopamine hits, it’s like emotional junk food for the brain. but this year, something in me snapped. one morning, i opened the app, scrolled for two minutes, and realized i didn’t actually care about anything i was looking at. so i deleted it. no big announcement, no “digital detox” story post, i just… left.

and honestly? it was weird at first. like my thumb kept going to the exact spot where the app used to be, as if muscle memory was exposing how addicted i really was. but after a few days, the noise started to fade, and i started noticing things. real things.

1. i actually have time.

turns out, when you stop scrolling through everyone else’s life, you get to live your own. shocking, i know. i didn’t realize how much time i was wasting until my weekends started to feel longer. mornings felt calmer. i was making breakfast without also mentally drafting a caption about it. there’s something strangely freeing about doing things without thinking about how they’ll look online.

2. my brain got quieter.

without the constant stream of opinions, aesthetics, and “inspo,” my thoughts stopped feeling so crowded. i didn’t realize how much space instagram took up in my head, always comparing, analyzing, trying to keep up. after a few weeks, i felt… lighter. more focused. i could actually sit in silence without reaching for distraction.

3. i reached out more.

when you’re not liking everyone’s photos, you actually text them. weird, right? i started texting friends instead of just watching their stories. i had longer conversations, met up more, and realized how much deeper connection feels offline.

4. comparison lost its grip.

there’s something about being away from the highlight reel that makes your own life feel more than enough. i stopped obsessing over what everyone else was doing, where they were traveling, what they were wearing. instead, i started noticing how good my own coffee tasted in the morning, how peaceful it felt to walk without headphones, how lucky i am to have the people i have.

5. i figured out what i actually like.

this was the most unexpected one. without being subconsciously influenced by trends, I started gravitating toward things that genuinely made me happy, not just what looked “aesthetic” or got likes. i realized i love slick back buns, minimal make-up, baggy clothes, random playlists, and long walks with no purpose. my taste, my style, my thoughts, they felt like mine again.

stepping back from the app reminded me of something i kind of forgot: scrolling isn’t living. it’s observing. it’s watching other people’s lives through a tiny glass window. but when you shut it for a bit, you realize how much beauty is sitting quietly in your own world, your people, your routines, your quiet mornings, your bad days, your good ones.

and life offline? it’s slower, softer, more real.
and honestly… it feels pretty damn good.