I don’t follow any friends who post about their life a lot — I follow accounts that are interesting or funny or whatever. I check it occassionally

I follow artists and photographers and like it a lot.

Anonymous wrote:Only started using Instagram when my teens’ sports team posts schedule on Instagram. I only use it for one team.
I have zero need to look at anything else on that platform.

So just don’t use it anymore, unless you have to.

I deactivated Instagram and log back in when my kids sports/activity is busy. I wish I could delete it entirely because I cannot control myself like the PP above. It annoys me that it is the official form of kid-related communication.

I use instagram but possibly in a very different way. I have a private account. I follow friends who live in far flung places who I've known for years, and I follow a group of like minded writers who I meet on writing retreats / workshops at various times. I also follow small presses linked to that kind of writing and I follow some pet / rescue groups and a bunch of artists/ art galleries. I don't allow anyone I don't know to follow me.

If I am feeling bombarded with ads I click that filter "following" so I only see stuff from those I've signed up for.

I also use the message function, to make appointments with tattoo artists and to respond to my actual real life friends' posts.

You can tailor these things to fit your tastes, you don't have to get sucked into the aspirant / depressing stuff.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m obsessed with dogs, so my feed is mostly cute dog videos and silly animals of penguins slipping on ice and seals sticking out their tongues.

Your feed is based on what you look at and who you follow, so you could try and follow more wholesome pages and then the few people you care to follow.

Or take a 30 day break and see how you feel.

This is the same for me. Time suck for sure but it’s almost all cute animal videos.

+3 or more for the cute animal videos, which my adult kids and I share. And occasionally some back exercise or similar videos.

M use it mostly to follow clubs and sports teams at my kids' high schools. I don't find it bothers me. I get a fair amount of random cat videos in my feed, but that's NBD, and occasionally they are cute.

Instagram shows you what you follow, so you can curate it. I follow recipes, pets, painters, farmers, some local stuff. I don't follow anyone or anything who aggravates me, and I unfollow easily.

Anonymous wrote:For anyone out there that deleted Instagram, did you find yourself feeling better about yourself and your overall life?

Like so many others, I joined instagram way back in 2014 when it was a fairly basic photo sharing platform. Since then, it's gotten worse and worse, and it's at the point now that I find nothing about it positive or inspiring. It seems to be nothing but people showing a small snapshots of events, but curating it to appear is if their lives are perfect. Vacations, new cars, home renovations, this list goes on. I recently read that it's the most toxic social media platform, and I'm really seeing why.

This just isn't a part of my life and never has been, so all I know about the toxicity is what i read.

Other than some FOMO in the beginning, I predict you won't miss it after a few weeks.

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Instagram is terrible.

Not for me! It's easily programmed to cater to content that you'd like. Maybe you don't know how to manage it or manage your time(?)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m obsessed with dogs, so my feed is mostly cute dog videos and silly animals of penguins slipping on ice and seals sticking out their tongues.

Your feed is based on what you look at and who you follow, so you could try and follow more wholesome pages and then the few people you care to follow.

Or take a 30 day break and see how you feel.

This is the same for me. Time suck for sure but it’s almost all cute animal videos.

Count me as a +1 on this kind of feed. I know social media can be toxic, but when I look at my own Insta feed it's basically Labs playing with toddlers. Not exactly necessary content but nothing that doesn't make my a smile from the cute.

I follow a lot of really positive and fun accounts. I love music and DJ’s so a lot of musicians accounts show up for me. I follow funny stuff like Betches and a lot of animal/pet accounts, although sometimes those get sad if the pet is sick/dying. But I never see the kind of stuff OP is describing unless one of my own friends posts it!

The algorithm shows you what you what you click on/look at. Try changing it to the content you actually want to see. I am a late 40s mom and I don’t see any of what you’re describing. Mine is all dogs, guitar tips, ADHD tips, and dancing videos. Nailed it Instagram! 😝 what do you wish you saw? There’s tons of great content, but it gives you want you actually want, not what you wish you wanted.

I think FB should be outlawed.

I love scrolling through instagram reels but I have zero interest in seeing posts by people I know, so I don't look at those - just random reels.

Oops, meant - there are a zillion steps/beauty routines *but* in my own youth I just used moisturizer and called it a day.