Day 004. Breaking the Scroll: 91 Days Off Social Media & Rediscovering Life IRL

The Daily Chronicles of a Millennial on a Social Media Detox

📢❗🚨 Day 004 of this special series in October. 📢❗🚨

Join in on the daily chronicles of a millennial on a social media detox; that’s me! I’ll publish what I observe over the next month, Monday through Friday, with no promises on what each day will bring.

This series is my mini-revolt against the attention-grabbing, time-sucking digital overlords. It’s my little way of reclaiming the sliver of independence over my time, headspace, and attention by escaping the noise to reconnect with my uninterrupted thoughts and creativity.

This sabbatical has been a cherished annual ritual since 2016. But I’m committing to 91 days off Instagram this time around. If your inboxes feel under siege, you can tweak your settings here. Otherwise, stay tuned—for a little while—to see what I’ll create.

Thanks @GettyImages, Unsplash.

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It’s been nearly a full week since my Instagram sabbatical, and wow—there are some glaring facts to share. 

I’ve tried to open Instagram ten more times. TEN! Sometimes, I’ll catch myself to give my mind a little nudge, “Hey, remember? We’re on an Instagram detox, chill out!” My brain is on withdrawal.

That’s twenty-four attempts in four days. It may not seem like a lot, but remember, I’m fully aware that I am logged out and on this break. This is also excluding the times where I stop myself mid-attempt, about to open Instagram (again!), having to spend a little time reminding my brain (again!), I am on a hiatus.

Imagine walking into a shop twenty-four times, knowing that the shelves in the store are empty, but continuing to visit anyway. That’s how powerful the conditioning is. 

We’re in deep Pavlovian territory now: a conditioned response, a learned reaction to a previously neutral stimulus. (If you’ve read this far, be sure to read Day 003 of this series to grasp the full analogy).

My brain and I are one, and yet, it’s out here going all rogue on me.

This isn’t like choosing to make my morning matcha or deciding what to watch on TV—those are conscious choices. This is my brain on autopilot.

Like a well-trained dog salivating for treats, my brain is itching for Instagram and the dopamine rush it’s grown accustomed to. It drives behaviour without my awareness, instinctively opening Instagram, without consent, sometimes from the moment I touch my phone. Like an automatic door with sensors its become as reflexive as pulling my hand away from a hot stove.

Thanks @RonLach, Pexels.

Instagram has hijacked my brain (and yours, too). 

I’ve caught myself trying to open Instagram after sending a text, after getting directions on Google Maps, or after paying bills. It’s as if once my brain is finished with it’s intended task, it goes off-script—‘Instagram time'!’ It’s bizarre!

The funny and equally tragic part is, there have been moments when I pick up my phone for no reason at all, only to witness my brain’s utter confusion when it’s met with Instagram’s boring login screen instead of the rich library of dopamine-rewarding stimulation it was expecting. Honestly, what is this sorcery?! 

It’s also why I am committed to this annual ritual.

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Try this experiment on yourself:

Log out of your most-used social media app for 24 hours. Observe, as the madness unfold. This experiment works best on apps like Instagram, TikTok, or X, where dopamine doses are high.

I am curious if anyone else experiences this, or if am I the only deranged Instagram addict around? 

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The withdrawals are real.

From past sabbaticals, I know this always happens in the first few days of a detox. Like an addict on withdrawal, my brain is flustered from the absence and deprivation.

Back in 2016, when I first took a break from Instagram, I was flabbergasted by how automatic this behaviour had become. I couldn’t even count how many times I tried to open the app. The shock was real, and so was the FOMO.

This time around, I am more steady. But eight years on, I am still stunned at how often my brain tries to sneak back in, this first week—like a teenager testing boundaries. It’s probably the lack of dopamine encouraging this behaviour. 

The upside? I feel more clear-headed everyday. I found new hours in my day to fill with other hobbies. The fog of distraction has lifted. I am more focused and my writing is flowing much more naturally.

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What about you? Have you tried going off Instagram or your social media digital drug of choice for an extended period? If so, what did you notice? Drop a comment below or shoot me a message—I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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Pavlov would call this experience extinction: the gradual fading of a conditioned response when the reward (the likes, engagement, and dopamine hits) are removed. 

I joined Instagram in 2011, right after it launched in late 2010. I never thought to take a break from the app until 2016 (a little more on this next week).

That’s 2,190 days, 52,560 hours, 3,153,00 minutes, and 189, 219,000 seconds of maximal exposure to one of the most addictive products ever created in human history. 

In those same six years, Instagram has become more sophisticated too. From the attractive design to appealing filters and the introduction of new features, can you even remember what Instagram used to look like when it first launched?

Thanks Unsplash+ Community.

As of 2024, Instagram has 2 billion active users. Two billion. That’s the population of India, the U.S., and Indonesia combined—and (let’s not forget) Instagram’s reach is global. 

Imagine if you’re an engineer at Instagram. The features you deploy affects 2 billion lives. You can tweak anything and everything you’d like with minimal oversight from external parties. Wild! 

I want to be clear—I am not against Instagram. I’m not even quitting the app myself. But I am equally cautious and in awe of it; how it’s managed to slowly and steadily dominate the world and our daily lives fascinates me. 

Instagram is a tool that also sees no borders, no class, no race, it’s a universal tool available to anyone, anywhere, with a smartphone and the Internet. It’s revolutionary, but also immensely powerful.

I am fascinated by the sheer influence a single company—and one CEO, Mark Zuckerberg—possesses over billions, all from the comfort of his Silicon Valley office. 

There are no armies marching for him, no wars to be fought, no battlefield of casualties. Instead, a team of technologists, marketers, and engineers, working under the command of one man, sitting in a cosy office (or working remotely), quietly influencing the minds of two billion people across the globe, using the power of the Internet.

For comparison, at its height in 1913, the British Empire ruled over 412 million people, about 23% of the world’s population at the time. During the peak of the Mongol Empire between 1270 and 1309, they governed roughly 25% of the global population, around 110 million.

Instagram alone—excluding Facebook and WhatsApp (apps also owned by Meta, Instagram’s parent company) now reaches nearly 25% of today’s population, out of a world of 8.1 billion. That’s about 1.5 billion more people than the British Empire and 1.8 billion more than the Mongol Empire, at both their peaks.

The dilemma is real.

It’s hard to say goodbye to a free, interactive billboard on the superhighway of the global internet— one that never fails to serve me interesting content, perfectly curated with a dollop of dopamine-laced heaven. Who can resist?

But imagine if, in an unlikely twist, Mark Zuckerberg went full Hollywood villain. Can you envision the chaos he could unleash? Can you imagine the ease of destruction? He holds the influence of two billion minds—let’s not forget this.

To be fair though, he hasn’t shown any sinister intentions (that we know of) beyond becoming incredibly powerful and rich. As the second wealthiest man in the world, recently taking over Jeff Bezos, it’s not hard to imagine a scenario where he decides to play the villain.

As Zuckerberg continues to climb beyond the pinnacle of his power, is it a coincidence that he’s also been making media rounds to promote Meta’s Orion, their augmented reality glasses, alongside a carefully curated casual and approachable guy image?

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How do you feel about Mark’s power? Do you care about Instagram’s influence? Are you ok about how Instagram is shaping our minds and rewiring our brains? Do you care about its control over you and two billion of its users? Does Zuckerberg’s power concern you?

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Resources

Dean, Brian. "Instagram Statistics: Key Demographic and User Numbers - Backlinko." Backlinko, 2024, backlinko.com/instagram-users. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.

"Mark Zuckerberg Overtakes Jeff Bezos to Become World's Second-Richest Person." The National, 4 Oct. 2024, www.thenationalnews.com/business/money/2024/10/04/mark-zuckerberg-overtakes-jeff-bezos-to-become-worlds-second-richest-person/. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.

SOAX, 11 Sept. 2024, soax.com/research/how-many-users-does-instagram-have. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.

Worldometer. "World Population Clock: 8.2 Billion People (LIVE, 2024) - Worldometer." Worldometers.info, 2024, www.worldometers.info/world-population/. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.

"World Population 1950-2024." Macrotrends, 2024, www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/WLD/world/population. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.SOAX. "How Many Users Does Instagram Have? (2024)."

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Follow along…

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Thank you for spending some of your day with me.