How much does INSTAGRAM impact our mental life!
Did you know, that Instagram, the most-used & the most-addictive app of our generation can affect your mental state? I’ll not state in which way, whether positive or negative but I’ll share my 5-day experience with you all & the rest I’ll leave to you. Hope you’ll read the full article unlike me.
Before starting, I wanna tell you I’m a social media manager and spend many hours of my day on Instagram. So, some days back, I was working a lot on my clients, making content, and posts, putting stories, editing videos & a lot more. Though I was productive at that time, something in my head was not right. I was feeling tired, mentally. Mental tiredness is something that always gets sidelined in our country, India. We do not go (or wanna go) deeper into this. We think we are mentally strong enough to cope with anything but I guess we are wrong. This is a real issue which needs to be looked after carefully.
This work is really hectic as you have to be on the screen most of the day. So, I decided to take a 5-day break from all social media applications and see what happens. I am quite sure many of you reading this would have done this once before. Whether during your exams or for some other reasons. We all know how time-consuming social media (especially Instagram) is. But we hardly approach the mental side of this thing.
I scheduled all my work and put a stop to using the app. I wanna tell you while using my phone for any productive purpose, my finger would always nearly open Instagram. This particular situation comes under muscle memory. Your muscles learn what you do on a daily basis. I am thinking of writing a particular article on muscle memory. Coming back to the topic, I somehow resisted using it. I did zero screening as well for these many days. I was focused on my work. My daily routine went like this — Getting up early — going for practice (I am an Athlete too) — helping my mum with her stuff — producing ideas for future content — doing some other work for my start-up — writing — reading. During these 5 days, I was unaware of what was going on in the online(social media) world. I stuck to this routine and now will share the outcomes during this process.
Well, all I wanna say is that it was all worth it, really.
- I felt more productive and less distracted in my doings.
- I felt more open toward the outer world.
- I felt mentally stable. Don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t mentally unstable before that. But my mental state was quite well positioned.
- I was more focused on my goal.
- I had a lot more time for productivity. I got more creative. Ideas (productive ones) started flowing in my not-so-busy mind.
- I had more energy to use it for a better purpose.
- Not lying on this one, I felt happier.
We all get excited while watching reels on our favorite topics or interests. We love to see what others are doing and how much they are enjoying it. This will give you happiness or joy for a very short term but for long-term happiness, you will have to seek within & do something productive for yourself and others. On the other hand, watching others’ life on Instagram makes many of us jealous of their lives and with that, we often question ourselves “When will I live like this?”
I wanna share what happened next. When this break ended, I opened my notifications-filled Instagram. I felt much more excited using the app this time around. Starting minutes were great but what lay ahead really pushed me to write this article. I was sitting on my couch enjoying Instagram tirelessly. I was watching the stories of my friends. Some of them attend DJ concerts, some enjoy vacations, some post their achievements and certificates, and others showcase their physically-fit appearance. Honestly,
- I started doubting myself if I am on the right path or not.
- I started overthinking about my future.
- I got disturbed and distracted from my target.
- I started creating useless thoughts in my mind.
- I started comparing my lives with others’ lives and thought about who was living better.
This is what I really felt.
This break gave me lessons for a lifetime.
- Never ever get influenced by others’ lives and always keep your aim in the mind and hustle hard to achieve it. Comparison sucks, really. Everyone’s purpose is different so search for yours and work for it.
- Always and always focus on your goals and never get distracted from that. It is your journey, live it in your own way. I am not promoting Royal Stag, by saying “it’s your life, make it large, haha. From now on, I’ll practice these types of breaks more often when I feel mentally retarded.
Hope you are still reading this boring yet effective article. May you get rid of all your distractions and unlock your best version in the near future. Keep hustling and enjoy as well as trust the process.
Happy Day, Readers! 🙂