By This is not just you; we are all guilty of overusing with Instagram and other social media. Using Instagram all the time can waste your time and cause some serious mental troubles for you.
So I am here to show you how to digital detox yourself and overcome social media addiction once and for all.
17 Signs that show Instagram addiction
Instagram addiction could not be necessarily harmful unless it causes severe disorder and disorganization in everyday’ tasks. Here is a list that shows if you are addicted to this social network. If you got a positive answer, go to the next section to get some tips on how to overcome your addiction.
In general, if you feel Instagram has disorganized your tasks or everyday life, make sure that something is wrong and you should prevent it. If you continue to the habits of using Instagram in an addictive way, you may face severe mental outcomes like depression or loneliness.
The most crucial point about this social media is that it may make you feel you have nothing, and everyone is enjoying their life. Though, it is not like that. Instagram is a platform that people rarely will share the sad parts of their life, but more the sunny side of the lie. However, it might make you feel that others are happier than you.
- The first thing you do after waking up is to check your Instagram.
- You must keep up to date with all of the latest posts.
- If you wake up in the middle of the night, you may as well see what is happening on Instagram.
- You delete photos that have under specific
- You don’t want your friends tagging you on a picture because of their weak filter skills.
- You have a perfect caption for a photo before even taking it.
7. You get super excited about Instagram updates.
8. You are a pro at hashtags.
9. You have apps to filter your photo before posting on Instagram.
10. You can’t choose between Instagram
11. Nothing could make you leave your phone while checking Instagram, you take your phone everywhere, even bathroom!
12. You have a fake Instagram account.
13. It takes at least two hours for you to choose a photo for your Instagram.
14. You cannot post a B&W photo next to another black and white picture.
15. You get an instant adrenaline rush when you post on Instagram, and the likes start to show up.
16. You should have a good following to follower ratio.
17. You like your account with fake accounts.
Why is Instagram so addictive?
- The act of capturing pictures: we think if we don’t seize this moment it will disappear forever and it makes us feel anxious.
- It has become a somewhat informal social network: Instagram is a social network, it’s not just about capturing the moment, so the specific triggers are now boredom, seeking connection and fear of missing out.
- Great filters: you can make a great picture out of a lame one.
- You will never want to miss out again: one of the biggest reasons to use Instagram is FOMO. You will get a psychological itch to open Instagram and scroll in.
How to break Instagram addiction
If you feel stressed out, anxious and overwhelmed all the time and you are consistently on your Instagram, or if you compare yourself to others and feel insufficient as a result, you might be addicted to Instagram. I have been there, and I know how you feel: “I’m not good enough.” You are good enough, and you can overcome this addiction because you are so much more than a number on a platform!
There are five steps to overcome your Instagram addiction:
1. Delay and schedule
You should decrease your time consuming on Instagram, find a better thing to do. This is a learned behavior so that we can unlearn it too. Remember life isn’t a competition and Instagram shouldn’t be about “Who is the best.” You can earn so much free time and energy by scheduling your activities on Instagram. There are platforms which can help you with that.
2. Your self-worth doesn’t depend on numbers on your Instagram
You shouldn’t compare yourself with celebrities on Instagram. The follower numbers and your engagement doesn’t define you. You are so much more than this.
- If you use Instagram for business:
If you are using Instagram for business and you need to gain more followers to gain more customers, you can hand it to Instagram automation tools like Instagram bots and auto-like, auto-comment, auto-follows and auto DMs. These tools will automatically do all your Instagram activities for you and buy you a lot of spare time.
So you can take a break from Instagram, and you don’t have the excuse of doing your job on it anymore!
3. Turn off your Instagram notifications:
At first, when you turn off your phone notifications, you will feel like something is missing, but trust me it gets easier. You don’t need to be notified about every little thing.
It creates anxiety and stress for you when you see your phone screen lighting up every few minutes with notifications. You will get more dependent on your phone.
So if you want to overcome your Instagram addiction, just turn your notification off.
4. Find happiness outside of your social media world :
You shouldn’t try to provide to other people that you have a life ( a happy life). Instead, you should be living it!
Your life should be about you and how you feel, not about making sure that other people like you. You should love yourself.
5. Stop reaching for your phone all the time:
Put your phone somewhere far from reach. Like another room or under your bed! Just place it somewhere out of your sight, and it would be easier to forget.
6.Limit your social media apps
if you are using an iPhone device, for example, you can use an option called screen time on your device. Using this option, you can set the time to use social media like Instagram.
After this time, the app goes off, and you won’t receive any notification, nor can you open the app. though, you can get extra time on the screen. For example, ask the app to run for more 15 minutes or today only.
7.Turn off that for the Instagram app, only
you can customize the access to the mobile data on any device for some applications only. So, you can switch th internet off for Instagram only while you are using other apps.
Conclusion
using instgaram might indeed have lots of advantages for us, but we should know that it should not take the whole life ambitions. Or it affects our social behaviors. If we feel that we have social media addicted, it is better to fix it before it hurt us.
