I am at my favorite yogurt store, there is nothing interesting about it.
Even before I take the first bite of my mango yogurt, I take out my phone, take a picture and post a story on Instagram with a silly caption.
This became a pattern in my life to show my friends that “Hey, look my life is cool”.
Instead of focusing on the present moment, I would spend my time scrolling on the app.
If I have had a single free second, I would instantly check Instagram to see the no. of likes, latest comment or what’s happening in my friend’s story.
I was constantly going through the fear of missing out (FOMO).
I would check people’s account and compare our life. Such a stupid thing to do. Basically, ignoring my Nani’s advice“Everyone’s is unique in their own way, don’t compare, be a better version of yourself”.
I realized that this was turning into an unhealthy habit.
One day, out of frustration, I decided to deactivate my account. Best decision ever!
Initially, I struggled a lot. There were a lot of weak moments where I wanted to download the app and see what’s going on. There was a constant craving but I kept myself motivated.
After a few weeks, I didn’t care at all. Honestly, I didn’t miss any information nor got the urge to download the app.
The best part of the digital detox is the amount of free time you get. Suddenly, I had an extra hour in my life.
I used this time to pursue my lost habits such as reading books, walking, running, or sleep.
This habit reduced stress and removed peer pressure. Ultimately, it provided a lot of peace of mind and happiness.
P.S: I spent three months without Instagram account. It was amazing!!!
P.S.S: Below is an interesting article by author Mark Manson:
In social psychology, there’s a concept known as “social proof.” Social proof is really simple: we tend to value things other people value. If you walk into a room and everyone is crowded around one person, listening to them speak, we instinctively make the assumption of: wow, that dude must be important! If you look across the room and see someone sitting by themselves, we also instinctively make the assumption that that person is not important. This is not conscious, and we all do it.
The result of social proof is that everything—art, people, movies, ideas—in the public square that gain some popularity, tend to gain more popularity. We want to see movies other people see. We want to know people other people know. We want to date people other people want to date. And when you’re scrolling through your Instagram feed, chances are you gravitate to highly popular content without even realizing it. But because of the size of the networks, social media puts social proof on steroids, accruing the greatest global attention to the most popular things and leaving the rest of the world largely ignored.
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