Recently, a friend expressed wanting to delete Instagram after realizing they were subconsciously opening the app. He would open his phone for another reason and end up scrolling through his feed. He explained how originally he just removed the app from his home screen, putting his tuning app in its place, so he had to go to the app library to access it. However, he found himself opening his tuning app and eventually memorizing where Instagram was in his app library.
His story was familiar to me. I’ve found myself pulling up Instagram anytime I have downtime and checking the app first thing in the morning. Myself and my generation as a whole spend a lot of time on our phones. I’ve always justified it by the fact I use my phone to read, look at art and talk to friends. Yet with school taking up so much of my time, my hobbies and passions have fallen by the wayside. Could I spend all those hours on Instagram crocheting, drawing or reading instead?
Deleting the app isn’t as simple as it sounds. I use it to talk to my friends, keep up with my favorite creators, see content about my shows, find inspiration and show people what I’ve been up to. I even use it for news. When I thought about those hobbies I could spend my time on, I thought about how many patterns, book recommendations and ideas I’ve found on the app.
My generation has a problem with the time we spend on our phones and apps like Instagram. However, society has shifted to platforms and technology as central hubs of communication, information, culture and art. The corporations behind the apps design them to be addicting on purpose. It’s comparable to a slot machine and just as addicting. The problem with everyone having the same addiction is that it’s the norm rather than the exception.
While I think everyone, including myself, should be more conscious of our screen time, we also need to be aware of how these apps manipulate us. Do you compare yourself to people you’ll never meet, buy useless items that will end up in a dump, believe misinformation, or scroll for hours without realizing the time you’re losing? The second you open that app unconsciously and spend more time watching other people live their lives than experiencing yours, that’s when it’s a problem. I do not know if I’ll ever be able to delete it like my friend, but at least I can regulate the time I spend on it.
