How to spend less time on Instagram

It's 2020 and people are spending more and more time on social media. Social Media platforms are becoming sophisticated machines that have the power to make us spend more time online taking that time away, our most valuable thing. Our time is worth money because the more time we spend online the more advertisements we watch. Instagram is a really good platform. It's very appealing, so much visual content and less of that written opinions people take to Facebook. It is very easy to become addicted, even more so when constant changes in the platform are made and it's display and algorithm work against you . With this in mind I'll show you 7 tips to spend less time on Instagram without letting it go completely.

Unfollow people

There's a really good chance you are following way too many people. We all had that feeling of " why am I watching this person's life when we are not that intimate?". Sometimes we don't even know the person yet we know where they are spending their vacation. Crazy, right?. It's also common to be following celebrities that do not inspire us or interest us in any way. I am not talking about your favorite artists but maybe there was that time you were obsessed with some Netflix series and decided to follow the entire cast but looking at it now, you couldn't care less about those people's lives.

Remember the less time you waste watching others live, the more time you spend living your life.

Unfollow Brands

Brands may be less annoying than certain people and post less often but still... why follow? Unless you really connect with a brand's mission, it is almost certain that images of things you do not need are being thrown into your brain. Let your daily life tell you what you need and not some brilliant marketing campaign.

Another disadvantage of following brand is giving Instagram information on the kind of products you tend to like. This information can be used to show you even more products to buy and chances are you'll like some of them so let's not give it the chance.

Be careful with the story trap

Instagram stories have that genius mechanism of passing from one to the other without your permission. Yet once again, there we stay, passive, just watching another story because we are curious beings. We are always looking for things that inspire us and entertain us better, we want that dopamine release. But you have probably notice that every few stories there is one that is an advertisement. That is your cue, when you land on one of those, you click back and stop that never-ending story string. Then you can see if there's anyone else whose stories may interest you or you can leave it for later.

Limit the amount of time on social media

This is key. You must determine how much time you are willing to spend on Instagram and then allow yourself only that much time. I would say 15 minutes is enough but it is a personal choice so make that choice and stick to it. To make it easier chose that time of the day, for instance, some people chose to check their feeds while on the train and others while sitting in the bathroom. Again, it's a personal choice, just try not to do it before going to bed because it can affect your sleep negatively.

Change the Instagram app to another app screen

This is a useful trick if you have Instagram on the first page of your phone screen. If you change it to the third page, for example, every time you slide to that page you'll be reminded of why is Instagram less accessible and feel more conscious when using it. It is like hiding your own cookies. It's not really hiding because you know where they are but every time you go there you are reminded that you are going against your wish of staying healthy and fit.

Turn off those notifications

Most of the time we are tempted to open the app when we get a notification. A friend likes our photo and we have to look at that "heart". Humans live for love and validation so it is only natural that we want to check it. Furthermore we have that notification from Instagram Direct which can be very appealing... of course we want to laugh at that meme our friend sent us or talk to that other friend! So turn off those notifications and then check them all at once when you mindfully decide to open the app.

Uninstall the app off your phone

This mind sound extreme, but hear me out. Try taking a break from Instagram by uninstalling the app. I do not mean deleting your account. You can install it back whenever you want. If you feel really or want to check your friends you can use your laptop and go to the website. This way you have the freedom from not having a button at hand to click on. If you are skeptical of this method try it just as an experiment. Chances are you'll end that period of time thinking you do not need Instagram as much as you'd thought.