Like Georgina McNamara (The one change that worked: I deleted Instagram – and embraced the joys of a truly private life, 19 October), I also deleted Instagram over a year ago and have never looked back. And I didn’t stop there. I deleted every social media app I had. When my eldest daughter imitated me one day by holding up two phones, one at each ear, I knew it was time to change something. After I went on maternity leave with my second baby, I deleted all social media from my personal phone. I worked in marketing so it felt counterintuitive, but I wanted to have a break.
Suddenly the world opened up. I could concentrate enough to read more than just the headlines of articles. I had time to organise meetups with friends in real life – in fact, life became IRL. I realise how much time I’d spent of my young children’s lives watching other people parent or just love their lives, and how much I was missing out on. So I quit all social media. Now I just have one messaging app and email, and I am happier for it. Everyone should try it.
The pros of the non-social-media life have benefits far beyond my own mental health; they have affected my family too. I model better digital use for my children. They don’t have to say things three times to get my attention any more. And my eldest daughter imitates me reading books instead of clutching phones.
Now I’m working on reducing the amount of photos I take. I’m experiencing life instead of trying to capture it for it to just sit uselessly in the cloud. I’d rather it sit usefully in my head.
Emma Roberts
Copenhagen, Denmark
• My wife and I deleted Instagram in April this year, along with all the other social media we had on our phones. Unlike Georgina McNamara, we had both stopped posting much on Instagram many months previously (my last post was a year and a half ago, of a drawing I did for my brother-in-law). We stopped posting because we had become uncomfortable with the way Meta and the other social media giants owned our photos, especially the ones we shared of our kids. What had started off in the early days of social media as a fun way of connecting online with friends and family had become clouded by suspicion of bad behaviour by huge companies hoarding our data and selling it to the highest bidder.
So we decided to delete it, partly to save ourselves and partly to model better behaviour for our kids, the eldest of whom is now in high school and facing lots of peer pressure to get on to social media (despite the bans). We promised ourselves we’d try to stay off it for a month. May came and went. Then June. We don’t miss it at all. My wife mentioned the other day that she sometimes misses the interesting design or cooking ideas she comes across, but on balance she thinks it’s a small price to pay. I don’t miss it at all.
We read a lot more now, have gotten back into Wordle, watch TV programmes with our kids, go to bed earlier. We’ve even got back into the habit of calling our friends to see what they’ve been doing – now there’s a wonderful thing.
Warwick Mihaly
Fitzroy North, Melbourne, Australia
• I deleted Instagram from my phone in July to try to reduce my screen time. I recently re-downloaded it so I could post on my story while on vacation in Japan and Korea. In the mere two weeks I have had it again, I have realised how much I dislike what Instagram does to me. It feels like a digital manifestation of my social anxiety, as I saw people doing things together that I wasn’t invited to and worried they didn’t invite me because they found me annoying or irritating. I also hated how much Instagram affected my wedding planning last year.
Seeing photos from weddings that occurred before Instagram made me realise just how over the top it all has become, purely to make an aesthetic post. I have deleted it again. While I do miss the memes and being able to send little photos to my friends throughout the day, I truly am happier without it.
Madison Heckel
Chicago, Illinois, US
• Reading Georgina McNamara’s article brought back memories of my own digital detox from a year and a half ago. Like many, I used to fall into the trap of believing that missing a day of posting would make my followers drift away, despite having a modest circle of just 200 people.
Driven by a desire to find balance, I initially planned to step away from Instagram for just three days. Surprisingly, that break turned into six months of profound peace and presence in the real world. Today, I have returned to the platform, but under strict boundaries: my account is private, I no longer post stories or share updates, and I use it purely for intentional, time-limited browsing.
Your article perfectly captures a modern struggle, reminding us that reclaiming our time from social media is one of the kindest things we can do for our minds.
Zainab Chasb
Karbala, Iraq
• I am glad that Georgina McNamara has freed herself from Instagram, but I found the article so sad, as it reminds us of all those who haven’t. An entire generation is going to have to learn the old truth that nobody wants to see your holiday snaps, nobody’s interested in your children, and nobody cares what you had for breakfast. Young people will, I hope, all find out before too much longer that an anonymous life is the best life. Oh, and nothing beats a good book.
Helen Clutton
Bristol
• I also deleted Instagram, but didn’t stop there. I got rid of all social media. I, too, found it liberating, even though I was only ever a light user of these insidious platforms owned by the despicable tech oligarchs. They are clearly designed to hook users into repeatedly checking how many likes their posts get in return for a potential fleeting dopamine hit. I find it better for my mental health to use my phone less and be more appreciative of the real world around me, and prefer to read a book rather than scrolling on a screen.
Gordon Smart
Glasgow
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