Instagram can easily be one of those apps that can increase your screen time by a huge margin and a minimalist's approach can help you save time and do better.
Let's tackle how we can become a digital minimalist and decrease screen time on Instagram.
Why we spend so much time on Instagram
Understanding why we spend so much time on Instagram is essential in taking the first steps towards reducing our screen time on the app. You could be using Instagram for the following reasons.
Consuming content on Instagram is slow poison
One of the major reasons why people are hooked onto Instagram is the short form content called Reels that's a one-to-one copy of TikTok's algorithm.
Once you start watching Reels, the algorithm understands the type of content you enjoy and suggests similar content along with a mix of content your friends watch and some suggestions of their own here and there.
Some folks are proud of building their algorithm "brick by brick" not understanding its implications.
All of my friends are there on Instagram
This is another major reason for people spending time on Instagram: we tend to be where our friends are. That's totally normal behaviour.
This instead leads to an unhealthy habit where we collectively do unproductive things like consuming content and absorbing habits.
More reasons people spend time on Instagram
- You handle a business page or your company's page and keep switching between your personal account.
- You require updates from things you have interests in and updates from your community.
- It acts as a way to pass the time when you have nothing to do.
While these are valid reasons to be on Instagram and spend as much time as you can, there are drawbacks and repercussions to spending so much time doom scrolling and applauding each other's bad habits.
How to use Instagram like a minimalist
As a minimalist generalist I have set my Instagram in such a way that I am no longer distracted by it. Nor do I doom scroll.
Here's how I did it and it starts from simple measures to calculated ones and finally some extreme solutions.
Turn off notifications for Instagram
The simplest fix is to turn off all notifications for Instagram directly from your phone settings.
Out of sight and out of mind is a mantra that works effortlessly; no notification and therefore no nudge to open the app.
This works greatly if you have something else on your plate to do aka actual work, chores, hobbies, etc
But if you are a degenerate that thinks about opening Instagram every 5 minutes then you have a bigger problem.
You need to get your life in order.
Unfollow accounts that add no value to your life
Why are you following Celine Dion or your rival team FFS? Unfollow accounts that add no value to your life and limit it to accounts of important people in your life.
Every time you let Uber Eats or Zomato show up as a post or story you are letting them market themselves to you.
Once you unfollow these accounts you will have reduced significant screen time because you are no longer seeing unrelated garbage or organic ads masquerading as posts and stories.
Talking of posts and stories...
Mute posts and stories from people who are not directly important
I get it, that's your classmate or colleague or whatever and you follow each other out of courtesy. Fine.
But you do not need to see each and every post or story 5 seconds after they have posted it; granted that posts don't even appear on your feed but stories and stories mentioning posts can easily take up your energy.
Mute accounts and their stories/posts to ensure that you do not see content from them when they want you to see it.
Have some control over when you see a post.
Managing your inbox on Instagram for a minimalist experience.
Your inbox is a trouble pot in the sense that you can easily get lost in the sauce of someone's free time.
Imagine this: some lad has sent 4+ messages and they are all Reels. This has been sent in a 5 minute burst.
That lad is probably free and done with work; now you get your crusty ass out there and open the message, watch all Reels, react to them and reply to a few.
What does it say about you? You are actively involving yourself in someone else's free time while your work isn't done. What does it say about you?
Please do not let people bombard you with Reels on their free time; mute them and check messages whenever you are free.
And honestly, if it's only Reels that they are sending then you should actively ignore them. I don't believe messages were meant to share only videos but rather to have genuine and interesting conversations.
Please do not bank on them sending you Reels around a sport and for you to open a conversation on that sport.
It is best to not give any energy.
Block out useless notifications on Instagram
After all of this that you have done for a minimalistic experience on Instagram, it is likely that they will still send you notifications about something minor.
"Allen is live," "Your aunty Bertha added to her story," "Jason added a new post" - STFU Instagram, I will see things when I want to see them.
Go to Instagram, your profile, click on the top right menu and under settings you will see a section for in app notifications.
Turn off those annoying ones to ensure that you are not being bothered by these notifications on Instagram that are not productive at all.
Read: decrease screen time on WhatsApp
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