I left Instagram
Last Thursday I logged off Instagram for the foreseeable future.
I lack the desire to keep up with steadily decreasing metrics.
I don’t want to make reels. I don’t want to watch them.
I don’t want to keep feeding the belief that I need this platform to have an impact in the world.
It has been four days, and my decision to leave is having more of an impact than staying plugged in. The emails and texts of resonance have been illuminating. When I texted a friend, my good-bye post was the top performing post of the last two years, she replied, oh, I believe it! I bet it resonated with more people than you would expect. Many of us are craving that escape but aren’t brave enough to take it.
Her response, and others like it, got me thinking about the courage it takes to leave a legacy social media platform like Instagram. It also took me back to my studies at the Digital Wellness Institute and some of the research I’ve explored on why taking a break or leaving socia…