We Deleted Instagram for 31 Days. Here's What Happened ...
Survey results from a collective month-long break from the 'gram
For the past two years, I’ve been deleting Instagram every other week, as well as every January and August. I don’t say this lightly: this rhythm has changed my life for the better, and I have reaped all kinds of fruit as a reward (more on that, plus my complicated thoughts on social media here).
This past July, just as I was getting ready to delete the app for August, on a total whim, I invited my Instagram followers to join me. I had no intention of hosting a group challenge, but before I could second-guess myself, almost 900 women signed up.
Throughout the month of August, I sent a handful of encouraging emails to the group, and received close to 100 lengthy responses back. Over and over, I heard the same sentiments. I feel so much better! I’m so thankful for this challenge! I had no idea Instagram was affecting me this way!
At the end of the month, I sent out a survey to the group. Today I want to share the results publicly for anyone who is contemplating a month-long break (but might need some convincing 😉). We are doing this again in January, and I would love for you to join!
// SURVEY RESULTS //
At the end of a 31-day break from Instagram:
86% of participants said their mental health improved
77% of participants said they felt less anxious
87% of participants said they felt more content
When asked what benefits participants experienced:
79% - greater ability to be present with friends and family
60% - more time to do things I love
69% - less envious, struggled with comparison less
74% - felt less overwhelmed/overstimulated
Note: one thing I didn’t include but several people wrote in was that they shopped less/spent less money on impulse purchases.
58% of participants said they made better or more meaningful connections with friends and family IRL during their IG break.
77% of participants said they spent less time on their phone.
79% of participants said this break gave them a new outlook on how Instagram is affecting them.
88% of participants said this break was eye-opening and they plan to set new boundaries moving forward.
94% of participants plan to take another 31-day break in January.
97% of participants would recommend this challenge to a friend.
// Open-Ended Feedback //
At the end of the survey, I asked two open-ended questions. There were too many responses to copy/paste here, so I’m just including some of my favorites.
Q 1: What did you learn?
“I learned that Instagram never/rarely leaves me feeling better. At best, I get off IG feeling blah, and at worst, I get off IG feeling discontent, overstimulated, and frustrated with the wasted time.”
“It is hard to feel left out when you can’t see people hanging out without you!”
“I learned that I am enough because of who God has made me to be … not because of how many likes or comments I have been desperately counting.”
“The first week made me feel more anxious and really brought to the surface my abandonment issues from my childhood. I literally cried several times the first two weeks feeling like no one cared about me. That made me realize I was relying on likes and DMs to feel valued and cared for. I switched gears and began reaching out to friends I missed via phone or text to connect. I made plans to meet in person. I also dove in on my hobbies and painted a lot more than I have in months, read four books, leaned into prioritizing prayers to bring me peace and acceptance. In the end, when I returned to Instagram, I had no desire to scroll. I almost feel like I’m not interested in learning about my friends’ lives from social media. I’m choosing to call and text.”
“I learned I was inadvertently going to Instagram without my own choice or knowledge. I had been trained to go to Instagram in any empty moment and I hadn’t even realized it. I also realized how much time I spent consuming information that was served to me instead of information I sought out or chose.”
“I learned I am more creative when I'm not on social media.”
“I learned I can live my life off of Instagram. The app is not necessary for life even though I let myself believe it is sometimes.”
“I enjoyed not spending so much time thinking/worrying about what other people were doing.”
“I didn’t realize how much Instagram affects me! When I see friends doing something without me or doing something I wish I could do, it makes me feel bad/sad/lonely/forgotten. It’s amazing how much *not* seeing other peoples’ content makes me appreciate my relationships and experiences without comparison.”
“I relished in long-form art, like newsletters, podcasts, books and blog posts. I felt like I had much more control over what I actually wanted to read, watch or listen to. And I liked that I was able to go in depth with the content instead of feeling like I had to comb through the muck to get to the good stuff.”
“I learned I’m a better version of myself all around when I’m not on social media.”
“I think the biggest lesson I learned during this Instagram break was that it’s better for me to know the details of peoples’ lives because of the effort I am putting into the relationship, rather than passively consuming it because they post on social media. Being away from Instagram really highlighted that I know much more about people I don’t actually know than the people I see every week in my real life. This month away from social media helped me better engage and connect to the real people in my life rather than the ones I’m watching from afar on the internet. For example, instead of seeing book, TV, or podcast recommendations from those that I follow, I asked my real life friends. This led to better conversation and connection.”
“I really became aware of my desire to share. Not just for the sake of sharing, but to ‘keep up.’ Although I was off the app, I still focused on taking and looking through photos to see what I’d share there when I returned, to seemingly show people I have a life worth living. This highlighted to me how much work I have to do with being okay with validating myself and my experiences. The wonderful part of removing myself from Instagram was the inability to compare myself, but I noticed the desire to stay relevant remained.”
“Quitting IG for a month puts a lot of what is REALLY important in perspective. I have more patience with myself and my kids. It is a great way to protect my peace.”
“I learned to live and love my life. The one right in front of me that God gave me. I grew so much in gratitude and can’t wait for another break (every other week for sure).”
“I realize that as much as I claim it serves me well and I have good boundaries (time limits, only follow accounts that I don't feel are trying to sell me something, etc), Instagram still drains me. I realize I trust myself less based on all the accounts I follow, especially regarding my parenting.”
“I felt my emotions much more fully. I feel more alive and present in my life. The lack of opportunity for comparison led me to take action toward dreams I don’t think I would have otherwise taken.”
“I loved how present I was with my baby and husband while off of Instagram and enjoyed taking pictures for my own memories without the pressure of feeling like I needed to post online to share with people.”
“I never realized what a sink-hole of time Instagram has become for me, and I’m not sure what would have snapped me out of it, if not for this challenge. This has detached me from instagram in a healthy way.”
“I learned that I compare and put too many expectations on myself because of what I see others doing, instead of focusing on what God has put before me. I’m less anxious and more full of peace. I really, truly love my life and the people in it. I have a new perspective of gratitude.”
“Better self-awareness, and a nice reminder that I control my emotional well-being! Instead of scrolling each morning, I finally started getting up early and working out (something I’ve tried to start up for over two years).”
“I learned how much I had come to rely on people I don’t even know personally for a framework for how to structure my days and parent my children. I loved feeling free of the opinions of others and trusting my own intuition and knowledge. I also loved spending more time reading blogs; I felt my own creativity sparked by consuming ‘slower’ content.”
Q 2: Anything else you want to tell me?
“After hearing how glad I was to delete IG, my sister-in-law followed suit a week later. Neither of us are planning on reinstalling the app on our phone anytime in the near future – saving it for computers only and no more scrolling! Added bonus: we now send each other pictures of our babies and toddlers directly via text, which is way better!”
“My experience is probably an outlier in that I experienced a major loss during this time. I admitted my Dad to home hospice on 7/31 thinking that we had months - turns out we only had hours and lost him very early on Aug 2. I had intended to stay off Instagram because I had so much work to do planning a funeral and notifying everyone. My Dad was never on social media (he didn’t think it was a good idea) so in a way it felt like I was doing something for him. It also protected me in my fragile state. It kept me from seeing a lot of happy posts and didn’t overwhelm me with sad ones. It forced me to utilize my tribe via text and phone calls rather than throwing asks or info out for anyone. It also forced me to sit with my thoughts and emotions. At times I definitely felt more alone but I don’t think it was because I didn’t have social media - it was (and still is) grief. I just know God’s timing was divine in all of this.”
“I did the challenge and loved it so much that by day 20 I decided to delete Instagram and Facebook all together because of the benefits I was seeing in my life in so many ways. I am now free from social media and it feels SO GOOD!”
“Knowing that something is unhealthy and actually taking the time to figure out how to change it are very different things. This challenge was a nice push in the right direction.”
“Thank you for running this and giving us all a gentle push. I realized I still really like the app and certain people I connect with on there, but I also don't need it. The downside is higher than the benefits.”
“I was surprised to find that I was able to get the things I *thought* I needed the app for in other places and feel just as, if not more, fulfilled. I’m a pretty independent person, but, shockingly, I really did need the power of knowing a community of women were also taking a break in order to push myself to do it. Thank you for this!”
Next collective Instagram detox kicks off January 1, 2023. See you there?
I’d love to know—have you ever taken a month off of social media? How did the break go for you? Any other thoughts on creating healthy social media boundaries?
This is so helpful for me, as I just decided two days ago to delete FB and Instagram for the rest of the year. I have felt so "twitchy" about it, but I keep reminding myself of what I need to lean into when I feel the urge to check my feeds, and it's real life relationships, not little squares on a screen.
Oh my gosh, I love this so much! I resonate with many of these posts, especially the experience of having substituted Instagram connection for real life connection. My first couple of weeks off challenged me to confront the ways I was feeling isolated and alone in life, which then propelled me to be more intentional about reaching out to loved ones and planning in-person time together. It's amazing how being on social media gives this illusion of intimacy, but leaves us feeling so depleted and alone.
Wow, yes, more of this! It's so empowering to take back control of our attention.
Thank you for inviting us on this journey with you, Ashley!