The idea to leave Instagram for 7 days came because I suddenly felt black and white in those colorful posts from friends, influencers, media, etc. Not only that I decided not to use it for 7 days, but I also deleted Facebook app from my phone. However I couldn’t fully fast from social media, as that’s part of my job. I ended up only using Facebook on laptop and staying online on all channels but only using the corporate account that I’m working at. The first 2 days were pretty hard for me, as some people asked me to open something on Instagram, and all I could respond was I’m sorry, I’m fasting from Instagram. Before you do similar fasting, make sure you read these following things I’ve realized after the fasting;

1. It saved my phone’s storage
   (Especially) many Andorid users have issue with storage, it’s like even the biggest storage is still not enough. People tend to have many applications that they don’t really use. Maybe in this case, you often use social media, but have you ever checked that it consumes a lot of space? You actually don’t open all of your social media channels, but you always keep them. To finally delete Facebook from my smart phone, it saved my phone’s storage. Instead of having that, I downloaded other app that could be more useful for me, like Google Books.
2. All-time power saving mode
   You’re aware that having many apps on equals having them processed in the background, that also equals battery consuming, aren’t you? Well, if you don’t know, here I’m telling you, that’s one of the reasons you bring power bank everywhere. Because you’re always on your Whatsapp, Instagram, Path, Facebook, Line, Twitter, (continue writing other apps yourself). So, turning them off, or deleting them, that saves your battery EY-LOT!
3. Unnecessary desire and preferences decrease
   On Instagram, I personally follow many of my friends, many acquaintances that I think inspiring, mass media, and some organizations. I know some people like to follow celebrities, some like to follow funny accounts, bloggers, vloggers, etc. So it really depends on whom you follow. But in my case, my thumb has identified so many people living in their lavish lives, traveling around the world, showing off their branded bags and shoes, their executive suite hotel room, even the extravagant bridal showers. I believe in my sub-conscious mind, those images build desire in me to have similar experience as what I see from those people on Instagram. The good thing was, after I finished fasting, I realized those images represent unnecessary preferences. The less I see, the less possibility for me to get disappointed of myself not being able to reach what’s not mine. That’s why I also follow social organizations to remind me to keep my feet on the ground.
4. My life suddenly turned to be so dull, yet very focus on what I do
   At first, it felt like the clock’s hand moves in slow motion and you looked at the calendar a lot, hoping 7-day ends soon. Probably the first 2-3 days will be the hardest part for you as it was for me. It was as rough as the feeling lost on the way to work, in the elevator, during lunch time, and even felt empty. You know, when you usually have your phone around that you can randomly swipe to any direction just to satisfy your fingers to move around while talking or doing other activities, but you can’t do it. I could only stare at people, think random thoughts, or it was actually the good chance for me to make conversation with people around. Yes, Instagram has been a good companion during various activities, but it’s also distraction to your focus. So, that fast helped me to get used to being focus on what I do.
   
5. Lack of inspiration and clueless about what’s happening in the world
   For those who like photography, Instagram has been one of the channels to seek for inspiration. From landscape, human interest, fashion, or even food photography. But not only that, it also becomes the source of news. If you want to get updated, but too tired to read long articles from news portal, Instagram is a good option. Well, those are some of the reasons why I’m so into Instagram and use it everyday. Once the ability to use it was taken away, I was utterly bewildered when I had to take some pictures. I suddenly had no idea which direction was good enough for pictures, I lost some senses. When people talked about the trending topics, I couldn’t follow, and I had to ask what happened.

I guess, people might have different experiences from doing this fasting. It depends on how dependent you are with the application and what you follow. When for me, I was pretty attached to this application. I know about trends, visual inspiration, recommendations, and even my friends’ lives from that app. Once I lose it, I lose it all. I’ve learnt some lessons from the fasting. So now, I’ve decided to keep on using it. But time management will be needed and I also try not to be dragged too far from my real life to some dream that society builds it for me.

To wrap that up, I would say it was a really great detox.
Now, it’s your turn. Will you unplug yourself from social media?