Like many people, I love love love to make new year’s resolutions. I half heartedly follow them for a month or two and then give up and go back to my old ways. Resolving to meditate more has been my resolution for a couple of years now, so when 2019 rolled around, I resolved to make a new resolution.
Have you checked the screen time tracker on your phone? I had NO IDEA how much time I was spending on my phone! If you know me, you wouldn’t say I was someone who was particularly addicted to my phone. When I am with friends, I don’t usually have it out, I’m not constantly checking it for new emails and yet I still spend on average 2 hours a day on my phone with an average 70 pickups, just under the national average of about 2hrs 22min. So for my new years resolution this year, I gave up Instagram. Instagram, according to my screen time app is the place I spent the most time on my phone. Waiting in line at the store, 2 minutes to kill while the kids find their shoes, bored, I would hop on Instagram for a few moments to catch up.
To make my resolution stick, I decided to do it for just one month. I would give Instagram up for January and then see where I was at at the end of the month. You can do anything for one month, right? Right. I started by deleting the app from my phone and posting my last “farewell for a while” post on Instagram. So what happened?
What Surprised Me Most About Giving Up the ‘Gram
At first I missed the distraction of Instagram. I missed seeing what friends and acquaintances were up to, I missed the visual beauty of Instagram, mostly I missed being able to share the moments from my day with others.
Fewer Photos
I had no idea how many pictures I was taking to be able to share on Instagram. When I deleted Instagram from my phone, I started taking so many fewer photos. This has its benefits and drawbacks. When I go to make my annual photo album, I won’t have nearly as many photos to wade through, but I also won’t have nearly as many photos to document our daily lives. Those photos of pretty food and espresso, I probably won’t miss, but I probably will miss some of those photos of the little ones doing quirky things. In a sense it helped me to live more in the moment, rather than trying to document the moment, but also by not taking as many photos, I think I started to savor those moments a little less.
Screen Time
Most surprisingly my screen time has not changed significantly since giving up Instagram. I still average about 2 hours a day (depending on the day). Maybe 10 minutes less than previously, but still basically the same. How is that possible?!!!!! I now spend my time on potentially more “productive” apps like email and reading my book, but still 2 hours on the phone, so doesn’t feel like it actually changed my fundamental phone behavior.
FOMO
Whereas when I first gave up the ‘Gram, I felt like I was missing out on the updates of people’s lives, that feeling has totally dissipated. I don’t worry about missing out on people’s Instagram posts and have made more of an effort to truly catch up in person. Since I haven’t seen all their photos already, I really don’t know what they have been up to and it is way more rewarding to hear it from friends in person.
No One Noticed
OK, so a few people noticed that I stopped posting on Instagram (and Facebook), but really not many people have noticed that I haven’t posted anything in 3 months. This may not be that surprising, but still kind of surprised me anyway. How could so few people notice?!
I totally thought I would be back on Instagram come February 1, but 3 months later, I don’t really miss it and am glad I am not wasting my time on it. I am rejoining as part of my coaching business, but with a very clear perspective on the place it has in my life. Now if only I can actually get my screen time down.