Quitting Instagram and What I’m Doing Instead
“There is too much negativity in the world. Do your best to make sure you aren't contributing to it.”
Germany Kent
I’ve come to a realization.
Instagram is like a big house party.
The first time you enter the house, you feel warm and fuzzy. There are instructions at the door with your name on them.
‘Hey! Welcome. Your room is off to the right. Decorate it as you wish. It’s entirely yours. Get started, your friends are waiting for you!’
You choose your colors and fonts and write thoughtful things on your wall. Then you find a gorgeous photo of yourself and post it along with a few fun facts, “Hi, I’m new here. I love gluten-free spaghetti, short-haired chihuahuas, and thick card stock.”
A handful of friends pop in, ❤️ your photo, and leave. Strangers stumble into your room like it and run.
You think to yourself, ‘I guess this is normal?’
After all, you’re new here. It’ll take time to get to know everyone.
Admiring your pastel rose wallpaper with linen accents, you’re happy and at peace knowing you’ve stayed true to yourself.
Then you decide to venture out and visit some of the other rooms.
There are grand rooms with cleverly placed photos, special handwritten notes, hundreds of comments from friends and strangers, and master-crafted things that seem too good to be true.
Then there are other rooms you wish you could unsee, and it takes a day or two to shake it off.
Finally, one day, after gruelling hours of reflection and rigorous honesty, you admit that you’d like to leave the house party and spend your time more wisely, going against expectations.
Following years of posting, planning, and thoughtfully curating my Instagram ‘rooms’, I recently asked myself, ‘Is Instagram positively contributing to my life?’
I love supporting my friend’s work and interacting with other inspiring leaders, however, more often than not, Instagram takes rather than gives.
So, I’ve decided to quit Instagram for now and I’m already breathing deeper.
In my commitment to myself, I’ve decided to post rarely, only for my films and only as needed. And, I truly feel excited about taking the path less travelled.
Someday this could change, but for now, you can find me here.
This isn’t the first time I’ve gone against the norm and it won’t be the last. Life is too short to worry about creating reels to capture someone’s attention when I’d rather be creating art that lives in people’s hearts.
After all, I’m one of 1.16 billion users, so why chase the algorithm?
Chasing goes against my fundamental beliefs as a yogi. Time and again, I’ve experienced answers to my prayers wherein the people, places, and things I’ve needed have come to me in the simplest and coolest ways.
Like the time I was spontaneously hired as a nanny for the producer of ‘The Muppets,’ or at 19 yrs old when a stranger gave me $500 out of the blue because he’d had a dream I needed rent money (which was the exact amount I needed.) He asked me to pay it forward, which I did.
Since not posting, I feel relieved. Like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Instead of worrying about what to post on social media, I’m focused on living life!
That includes meditation, family, preparing for my next film and improving and expanding this website.
This will be the home of all my videos, blogs, and films so I hope you’ll join me here! Slow and steady, quality over quantity is my motto.
Throughout this digital detox, I’ve been wondering if, as a society, we’re missing out on a rich inner life because we’re spending so much time trying to keep our social media ‘rooms’ up to standard.
TAKEAWAY: We’ll never regret taking time away from social media to question our values, where we spend our time, and whether our lives are ‘working’ or not. A helpful question is, ‘What do I have to do?’ Take care of our health, build friendships and personal relationships, and do satisfying work to pay our bills. Having a spiritual connection is essential for some of us. But if we look deeply, we may see some of our have-to’s are society-driven and not inspired by our values. Only we know what we need to do to get back into balance. As my daughter likes to say, you do you.
In appreciation for your being here,
Shana Lee
P.S. Share my blog as you feel inspired.