It has been two years since I archived my Instagram account. I haven’t used Facebook or Twitter for a long time, and Instagram was the last platform I was actively on. I still have LinkedIn, but I don’t have the app and rarely check it. I also use WhatsApp, but only for messaging.
At first, I missed Instagram a little. It was one of my go-to ways to escape boredom. I wasn’t a heavy user, but I would often catch myself mindlessly opening the app out of habit.
To others, it felt strange. People would ask why I left, almost like I was doing something wrong. Over time, I got used to it, and overall, the experience has been positive for me.
Of course, social media isn’t all bad. It has its benefits too. In this post, I’ll share what I’ve noticed in these two years away from it. These are personal observations based on my own habits and behavior, and they may not apply to everyone.
Benefits of not having social media
Not having social media has proven to have some benefits for me.
More connection with real people
I used to spend a lot of my social energy on shallow interactions online. That left me with less motivation to build deeper, real-world relationships. Social media gave the illusion of connection, but it often lacked substance.
Brené Brown expresses the same in the episode Esther Perel on New AI – Artificial Intimacy
Real connections need friction
Online relationships are low-friction. You follow who you like, and interactions are mostly likes, comments, and emojis. But real relationships are messy. They take effort, vulnerability, and patience, things we don’t practice much online.
When we avoid small moments of conflict or awkwardness, we don’t build resilience. It’s like skipping small fires in a forest, which eventually, a big one hits, and we’re not ready.
We value the experience more
On social media, it’s common to tie the value of an experience to how it performs in a post. Instead of enjoying the moment, we think about how it will look in a story or how many likes it will get. This becomes especially clear when people are together but are focused on taking photos or videos instead of simply enjoying the moment.
Not having an easy escape from boredom
Social media is a very easy and low-effort way to avoid boredom. You open the app and scroll through endless content.
Sometimes, that can be relaxing. But often, it replaces other activities that require more effort to start, like reading, journaling, or learning something new. For example, it might take a few minutes to focus and get into the flow of reading a book. That initial hurdle becomes harder to get through when a distraction is only one tap away.
Less of the “grass is greener” feeling
Historically, people compared themselves with their local community. Now, we compare ourselves with the entire world.
Even when we’re not consciously doing it, it still affects us. We see people on dream vacations, with perfect homes or perfect partners. And we compare that to our own reality, which we know includes struggles, setbacks, and boring moments.
Social media also encourages performance. People don’t just show their lives, they show the version of their lives they want others to see. It becomes easy to compare our actual lives to other people’s highlight reels, and that can quietly make us feel inadequate.
Drawbacks of not having social media
Even though there are many benefits, I also miss a few things about social media.
Missing the memes
This might sound silly, but I do miss the memes. They brought quick laughs, clever takes on daily life, and a shared sense of humor. They were one of my favorite parts of being online.
Effortlessly discovering new things
One thing I miss is how easy it was to discover interesting places. If someone you follow went on a nice hike or visited a cool restaurant, you would see it without even trying. This still happens a bit, thanks to my wife, who still uses Instagram. A few times, we’ve found great spots nearby just because someone she follows posted about it.
Missing the chance to share achievements
We all like to share personal wins, whether they’re about fitness, work, or something else. Instagram was a place where I could post a tough hike, a gym milestone, or another small victory, and feel a little bit of pride and encouragement.
Now, I still do those things for myself, but I sometimes miss having a space to share them more publicly.
Getting recent information about places
Another thing I miss is checking recent updates about places. On Instagram, you could look up a restaurant or hiking trail and see the latest photos and comments from real people. I still use Google Maps and reviews, but they’re often not as current or visual. Instagram gave a more immediate sense of what to expect.
Final Thoughts
Quitting social media wasn’t a huge decision at the time, but looking back, it had a real impact on how I spend my time and connect with others. It helped me be more present, more intentional, and less reactive.
There are things I miss, and I’m not against social media in general. It can be fun, helpful, and meaningful depending on how you use it. But for me, stepping away created space for things that matter more.
Cheers.