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Ask HN: Anyone tried quitting Instagram?

7 points by dilpreet_singh ↗ HN
I use it often between cognitively demanding work sessions (like around 50 min work session), to get some quick relaxation for 10 min so that I am ready for the next work session and am cognitively recharged.

I haven't been able to find a better solution to this, that allows such cognitive relaxation quickly between work session allowing me to quit Instagram.

What do you guys do between cognitively demanding work session, when you feel mentally exhausted?

21 comments

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aprdm
I walk around the house, or the block…
dilpreet_singh
Walking is a great one too, thinking while walking really helps.
Kibae
I made it a habit to “seek boredom” during my breaks. Walk around the block, drink some water, meditate.

In general, avoid stimulants like HN, Reddit, Instagram to minimize context switching.

dilpreet_singh
"Seek boredom", I like that one. I heard about it on the Deep Work podcast from Cal Newport. Definitely interesting and makes a lot of sense.

I think that simply lying down with eyes closed, breathing deeply or meditating should recharge the cognitive exhaustion and help in grounding.

Will definitely experiment with this and see if I am able to stick with it.

busymom0
> seek boredom

That's an excellent advice. Not just for quitting FB/IG but also for life in general. I often have my deepest thoughts and come up with product ideas when I am bored or in the shower or waiting for the bus.

cosmodisk
My previous company was located in the very center of London. I used to eat lunch quickly and then go on a stroll for 30-45min with a mile radius. I knew the area inside out after a year and it was so nice to discover all the little shops, parks, some random pubs, or galleries.
sachin9
I haven't used in years! I can vouch that my life has been far better than you could imagine.
dilpreet_singh
Cool! I believe quitting it will kind of lower my threshold for instant gratification and increase my patience levels which is what I desire and want to quit it. But haven't been successful in replacing it.

Any techniques, tips or alternatives that helped you in quitting it?

And it would be interesting if you could share what benefits you observed from quitting it?

busymom0
I quit it over 8 years ago. I can only imagine that it's gotten much worse since then.

It was quite spontaneous. I came out of shower, picked my phone and deleted the IG account, FB account (they let you keep the messenger while FB gets de-activated), Snapchat and Twitter all at once.

The feeling of fear of missing out is real and you go through almost a withdrawal period. Things like you launching browser and fingers automatically start typing Facebook's url without realizing and then the browser auto-complete automatically fills in the username and password fields and all you have to do to get a "hit" is to click the "log in" button. But then you have to force yourself to not do so.

Do it spontaneously and remove your account info from the keychain/password manager. Change your hosts file or block it on your wifi router etc. Basically make it as hard as possible for you to get back.

You can also do something like for every second you spend on social media, you need to do that many push ups and pull ups.

The other comment's advice about "seek boredom" is excellent.

dilpreet_singh
I tried deleting the app and instead accessing it via browser and that too through the incognito mode, so that I have to enter the user name and password each time I login, so that it will become hard and discourage me from using it.

However, I still find myself using it. I think until I find a good alternative to what need Instagram is fulfilling, in my case quick relaxation, I won't be getting off it.

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dave_sid
I just joined it
dilpreet_singh
I would say you should track and observe how much impact it has on you, say for example on your focusing ability in no of mins you can focus on things, patience levels etc to figure out if it is having a positive or negative impact and if its worth it.
jh3309
I use picuki.com with firefox noscript enabled. Its an insta clone so doesnt require login but is able to show the first 10 or so pics in anyones insta stream. So there is no endless scrolling possible and not having to login prevents me from liking/commenting etc. These things I feels make the experience much less addictive.
ceilingcorner
Try meditating for 10 minutes.

Otherwise, I suggest “poisoning” your Instagram algorithm. Follow a bunch of unpleasant topics and people, or just search for them. Your feed will soon be filled with content you have no desire to look at.

dilpreet_singh
"Poisoning the algorithm", that's a cool advice. Definitely following it. Thanks for that.
codingdave
I go for a walk. It often is just a short walk outside, but does not have to be. I'll walk around the house, say hi to my family, or sometimes even just stand up and meander around my office for a few minutes. As long as I am up and moving.
[dead] dellez
Try closing your eyes and turn on some serene music for about 10 - 15 minutes. You will be surprised at how relaxing it is to close your eyes and doing nothing at all. With this simple gesture, I can say that it is one of my favorite mood boosters.
jdshupe
I quit using it not too long after the chronological feed was removed. I initially got instagram to keep up with close friend and family but once my main feed essentially became an ad zone I quit cold turkey.

My recommendation is an audio book or podcast to fill those gaps. For me it had to be something interesting and complicated enough that I had to intentionally focus on it.

chaircher
No but I have had luck only having it on my desktop and then if I need to use the app functionability, logging in on mobile and logging straight back out.

For me it's less about what I do when I'm exhausted and how my environment is. Am I comfortable just staring into space, if not why not? Often I fall back into instagram as an avoidance thing, eg if I'm worried someone's going to try and bother me because I'm not doing anything

mariedavid
I deleted the app on my Iphone. I don't regret at all. My mind seems clearer, not swamped into unnecessary content curated by the algorithms. I loved Instagram because I love painting, and photography, and visual arts in general but these past years it has become terrible with all the videos, and advertisement. And to answer your second question, when I feel mentally exhausted I try to do something physical like going out for a short walk. Seek boredom is an excellent advice !