How taking a social media break helps your wellbeing

It has been reported that Instagram has 1.3 billion users. There are around 8 billion people in the world, which means that 16% of the world’s population are using it.

I know from personal experience that it takes up a lot of my time, and my energy. On Wednesday last week, I had been on instagram for 2-hours of my day! You see, I run two accounts on the popular social networking service – @geriatric_mum and @she_coaches_confidence and have to say, here goes, I am a bit addicted.

Five days ago I quit Instagram and have deleted the app from my phone. Pressing the ‘uninstall’ button on that little pink and orange icon felt, in some ways, excruciating. Irrational, I know, but nevertheless that’s how it felt. Despite telling myself all the reasons for deleting, I still wrestled with being insta-free. Anyway, I did it! – making sure I had a note of my password whenever I need to go back for a fix.

It has been less than a week, but leaving IG has already helped my well-being. Here’s how:

1. I pick up my phone significantly less
2. I am starting to unravel why I use social media, by this I mean why I really use social media
3. I am now aware how many times I think, ooh this would be good for my stories
4. I am tuning into how I rely on my followers
5. I’m more aware of how much I need connection
6. I am positively re-thinking my business strategy
7. I am not looking through the insta-lens into other people’s lives
8. I acknowledge that I was/am a bit addicted to IG
9. I realise I have been comparing myself to others
10. I recognise that there is a lot of shit on instagram
11. I have more time for my children
12. I was drowning a bit under the constant hacks, tutorials and this is what you should wear posts
13. I feel a sense of relief
14. I’ve stopped thinking about ‘content’
15. I am now thinking about my digital footprint (with my kids in mind)
16. I understand that we are always being watched!
17. I haven’t been mad scrolling before bed
18. I don’t miss it – yet.

I felt scared about making the cut. I use insta for work and have connected with some amazing people over the years and I don’t want to lose existing connections or to jeopardise new ones. I have features in magazines and articles online coming up and to be totally honest, I do like to shout about these (see point 2 above) – but, what is more important? Likes and recognition or my mental health. I have also planned a live with a fab make-up artist in a few days, so I will need to jump on and do that, but I will resist the temptation to see what’s been going on. I am definitely not saying I will leave instagram for good (I mostly like social media) but a reset/period of abstinence is what the doctor ordered – not literally – she just ordered me to go up to 100mg oestrogen patches – but that is for another blog post.

How do you feel about social media these days?

Lucy aka Geriatric Mum

Still on some social media platforms:

Twitter (photos and no reels) @geriatric_mum

Linkedin (for my coaching work) Lucy Baker LinkedIn