How My Social Media Detox Became a “Demitox”
I used to be a heavy Instagram user. I liked checking what my friends were doing, replying to DMs, and casually scrolling whenever I had a few minutes. Over time, though, I started to feel that my attention span was getting shorter. As a PhD student, I often need long stretches of focused time, so Instagram began to feel less like a fun social space and more like a constant interruption.
Because of that, I have developed a repeated pattern of social media detox. At the beginning of a semester, I usually delete Instagram to reduce distraction. After a month or so, I sometimes reinstall it for one or two weeks. Then, when I need to write a major paper or focus on a big deadline, I delete it again. During the recent break, I used Instagram a lot while attending a conference in Bergen, Norway, and traveling with my family in Vienna. But as soon as I returned to Tallahassee, I deleted it again.
However, I realized that my detox is not really a complete detox. Maybe it is more of a “demitox.” I deleted Instagram, but I still use 'Setlog', a social media app that has recently become popular among some Korean people in their 20s and 30s. On Setlog, users post two-second clips of what they are seeing or doing each hour, and these posts are shared only with a small group of selected friends. I can create separate rooms for different friend groups, and people outside those rooms cannot access the posts.
This feels very different from Instagram. Instagram often makes me curious about many people’s lives, even people I am not that close to. Setlog, in contrast, lets me see small, ordinary moments from only my closest friends. It feels more private, more intimate, and less performative. At the same time, I still check it often because I enjoy seeing what my closest friends are doing in real time.
This experience makes me think that social media is not simply something to keep or quit. The more important question may be what kind of participation each platform encourages. Some platforms expand my network but also increase distraction. Others create smaller and more private spaces, but still shape my habits and attention. As I begin this Web 2.0 course, I want to think more carefully about how I participate in social media, not just whether I use it or not. My goal is not to become a more active user of every platform, but to become a more intentional participant.
I have developed a similar habit of deleting apps. I used to have Facebook and Instagram accounts. A couple of years ago, I decided to permanently delete my Facebook account, only to create a new one recently. There were some groups that I was interested in joining. I think I will delete it again, though.
ReplyDeleteAs for Instagram, I agree that it is super addictive. I like short videos about neuroscience, neurolinguistics, psycholinguistics, and the psychology of learning.
I reinstated my Instagram account over the weekend, just for this class. The timing feature helps me keep my activity under control, but my time is too precious for me to waste on it long term.
I totally agree with you. Watching a 40-minute long youtube is hard to push play button, but I would spend 2 whole hours watching short-forms! I maybe need to delete IG but install them for a short time whenever this course requires me to.
DeleteSetlog (in description) reminds me a little bit of an app called Be Real. Not sure if that one is still around.
ReplyDeleteoh yea my cousin - who is a millenial - used it. I think what is different from Be Real and Setlog is that no one should initiate friends to send a pic or video of that moment. You can take a picture or a video just once an hour. You may skip it, but you can't record the moment more than once in an hour.
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