Instagram stays here. So people are changing the way they use it.

On New Year’s Eve 2021, Taylor Bracher’s friend canceled a ski trip because his dog was sick. Later that night, Bracher’s friends posted many on her Instagram Stories of her skiing with others all day. So Bracher deleted her Instagram app from her phone.

“I wasn’t sure if it would last forever, but I knew I was fed up with the negative emotions the platform was fostering. FOMO, consumerism, empty connections, everything.” Bracher told Mashable. Later that night, she started a group chat with her friend, who also decided to delete the app for similar reasons. This is where you send all the pictures you normally post to Instagram, such as dogs, babies, nature, food, and more. They call it “Instaholics Anonymous”.

“The beauty of deleting Instagram is that Fufu! — All the drama and negative emotions I experienced with the app are gone. Pretty soon, it wasn’t my problem anymore,” Bratcher said.

I wasn’t sure if it would last forever, but I knew I was fed up with the negative emotions the platform was fostering. It’s all about FOMO, consumerism, and empty connections.

I hate Instagram basically Critical to Platform Existence at this point.according to September 2022 Instagram Report Leaked wall street journal, Instagram engagement is declining, and Reels in particular has seen a significant drop in user engagement. Additionally, only 10% of the most popular creators in 2023 will use Instagram as their primary platform. According to data from High VisibilitySEO agency.

There have been futile, but seemingly constant efforts to replace the app with another platform. Berealglass, grain and even tumbler When LinkedInAnd for good reason. Instagram offends.in leaked documents of wall street journal, Facebook’s own research “Instagram has proven harmful to a significant percentage of its users. [teens]most notably teenage girls.” And while young people bear the brunt of the Instagram effect, no one is immune to it. According to the American Psychological Associationstudies link Instagram to depression, body image concerns, self-esteem issues, social anxiety, and other issues. record lowSo it’s no surprise that users are trying to minimize the harmful effects of Instagram. tons of ads About the platform and new features that try to do everything but nothing works.

In a Reddit thread titled “Okay, Your Feed Is Completely Ads,” dozens of users complained about their Instagram feeds becoming a constant stream of ads.

user higher lane kiffin “60% of my newsfeed posts are from accounts I don’t follow. I don’t know what to do.” another user, live your way“Moved from following all of me to following all others. [an] As of today, the 3:2 ratio of ads to promotes continues from the worst people and things. ”

There are several ways to combat the number or types of advertisements you see. When you unfollow a company, fewer ads appear organically in your feed. On the other hand, when you unfollow a celebrity or influencer, you consume less of the content sponsored by him in your feed. When you unfollow celebrities and influencers, Potential to reduce overall consumption — and boost your self-esteem. According to documents uncovered by of the Wall Street Journal Facebook filemost people feel sick Because when they see a celebrity or influencer on their Instagram feed, they compare themselves to the influencer they see.

Beyond advertising and influencers, Instagram is still not what we want. This platform is becoming a super app. Terrible, as reported by MashableIt’s becoming its own digital ecosystem with all the features you’d expect from an online store, link sharing, and other apps. Tweeting and being real When Sharing TikTok Videos.

Then there’s quantified popularity. This is the ability to see the number of comments, likes, followers, views and all other metrics that people use to measure successful content online. It’s become a surefire way to track digital leaderboards. Tech companies love them because they encourage users to stick with their apps. Influencers need them to prove their worth and seal brand deals. And publications use them as measures of engagement. Politicians and activists want to get rid of social media altogether to make it less scary. But mental health experts say there’s no one easy cure for creating a version of social media that does what you want: creating community and connecting people. Hurting users via metrics.

Putting the power to change the impact Instagram has on users into their own hands is a horrible way to make change happen. But that’s not an option for everyone, including those who rely on apps for their livelihoods and those who use apps as their primary means of communication with friends and family.

It’s the past version of Instagram that people say they really want on this platform. There’s a reason we look back fondly on the old Internet. In the early days of social media, we used platforms like Instagram to “post what we probably understood to be fun, silly, and a limited audience.” University of Waterloo, told Mashable in an earlier articleOur friends saw our post and that was it.

“The content was rich, but the audience was not. I imagined no one was interested,” Morrison said.

The idea of ​​a return to the pre-existing social media of today is a pipe dream at best. Not all users can remove it, but there are some ways to interact with just the parts of the app that you like. When I asked my followers what they were doing to improve their relationship with Instagram, many had very specific plans for the coming year.

Set time limits in the app.

We check our smartphones an average of 85 to 101 times a day. Attraction reportedIn 2019, we spent an average of 2 hours and 23 minutes on social media each day, almost 1 hour of which on Instagram. Also, 39% of his users said they use it “to fill their free time.”

Pay more attention to what we post.

Brianna Moore, one of my Instagram Mutuals, said, “As I work to detach myself more from Instagram, it has had a huge impact on how Instagram views my mental health and connection with others. This includes actually trying to react. Instead of passively looking at what other people are posting, I try not to give them what they post on Instagram. , I’m looking at what’s starting the conversation.”

Take a more conscious break from apps by removing them from your phone for a while.

Mashable’s Chloe Bryan frequently 1 week break from Instagram By deleting the app from her phone. She wouldn’t call it life-changing for her, but “sometimes a little break is nice.”

Be more selective about who you follow.

Cleaning up someone you follow is one of the most cathartic feelings I’ve ever experienced. Every time I do it I feel better than the last time. Instagram mutual user Sarah Erickson said, “It’s possible that an account I’m no longer interested in or my feed is creating too much of a ‘capitalism buy this buy this’ vibe. I unfollowed a lot of accounts that I thought I had.” Now Ericsson is trying to connect her Instagram with her family, friends, local events her account and local news. you are the one who follows you

Be more aware of how apps affect our mental health.

“I really hate being stressed out by posting on my main account,” former South Berwick City Councilor and fellow Instagram user Keegan Roberts told Mashable. “I have a crazy obsession with likes. I’ve gotten better over the years, but I’m still obsessed with likes. We’ve taken steps like removing like counts from posts. But I’m still focused on the numbers.I have this all the time.I have a problem with Instagram and it’s a constant source of stress so I don’t post often.”

Protect your privacy.

If privacy is one of your concerns, There are ways to protect your privacy on InstagramYou can hide location data, block users, manually approve tagged posts, restrict the use of hashtags, and of course keep it private.

Hire where you can.

Musician and label owner Michael Kadnar uses Instagram to get work. So this year, he decided to have someone take over professional Instagram so he wouldn’t have to spend time and effort on the app.

I am only using part of the app.

Instagram is such a big part of our society because it really can do anything. One of my mutual hes, Philip Gialopsos, described Instagram as “a jack of all trades that still excels at facilitating a lot of personal connections through DM.” So, if you find that you can’t remove the app because messaging is a part of your life, simply use messaging alone. Use stories only. Deny scrolling of the feed. Do whatever you can to make this year’s experience more enjoyable.

Instagram isn’t going away. So maybe it’s time to re-evaluate your relationship with Instagram.