I deleted Instagram 6 months ago and I'm genuinely happier—here's why I'm never going back.

In June of this year, I deleted my Instagram profile.

I joined in December 2013 and eagerly posted pictures of my life's milestones to keep my loved ones updated. My first post was a photo of an ecstatic Gili in Times Square, fresh off the plane in New York. The joy of receiving likes and comments was palpable.

Over the past decade, I became skilled at exploring the personal lives and romantic entanglements of celebrities, which only made me feel inadequate. To satisfy my curiosity, I would frequently turn to Instagram to discover where Andrew Garfield was, whether "Just for Us" comedian Alex Edelman was still dating Hannah Einbinder from "Hacks," and which exciting events Zoe Lister Jones was attending that I was not invited to.

After a week of being engrossed in Instagram videos of "West Side Story" actor Mike Faist's meet-and-greets with his fans, I reached my limit.

Instead of frolicking on the beach, I spent much of my time on the app and felt like crap because I wasn't with the people I'd been seeing online.

I decided to quit Instagram and went cold turkey by deleting my profile on the spot.

My life has been both slower and richer ever since.

Instagram made me feel empty

Many users, including me, have experienced the negative effects of Instagram.

According to DataReportal, the app had 2 billion monthly users in July 2023, making it the fourth most popular social site after Facebook, YouTube, and WhatsApp.

The Harvard Business Review reports that a "like" on social media releases dopamine, a feel-good hormone, which motivates users to constantly check in, negatively impacting their mental health.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University discovered in a 2019 study that adolescents who spend over three hours daily on social media are more likely to experience anxiety and depression.

I felt a clear distinction between how scrolling and actually living my life affected my mental health.

Scrolling through social media left me feeling empty, while spending time with friends, watching an Off Broadway show, or mastering a new recipe brought me immense joy. According to Psych Central, being surrounded by images of others' seemingly perfect and thrilling lives can have a similar effect on our mood.

Instagram ate up my time

There was also the time-suck component.

I'm making a conscious effort to use my free time more mindfully. I removed my Twitter account (now X) a year ago and stopped using dating apps in April 2022.

Having and using time meaningfully, as described by Harvard professor Ashley Whillans in her book "Time Smart," can improve wellbeing.

Social media is one of the tech she describes as time-consuming activities that make you feel like you're running out of time instead of having plenty of it. Even if I only spent 10 minutes on Instagram, that's 10 minutes less that I could have spent on all the important tasks on my to-do list.

My evenings move slower now

Since removing the app six months ago, despite the usual highs and lows of life, I've felt more content due to having fewer distractions affecting my mood.

The evening hours feel slower without the distraction of Instagram.

I miss out on announcements and general life updates, but these are good excuses to meet up in person and create memories instead of in tech.

After removing my profile, the biggest change I experienced was how I felt about taking pictures. I had become accustomed to taking them for others, but without an audience, it felt like there was no purpose.

As a child, I cherished creating photo albums. I would purchase a disposable camera and utilize it during outings with my friends at Cabot's or Johnny's (or any other location we would meet up). When printing and organizing the photos, I would revisit those fond memories.

After deleting my Instagram profile, I decided to pick up the habit of taking photos again. Now, whenever I take a photo, it's in anticipation of January 1, 2024.

I plan to compile my numerous adventures from 2023 into a humorous album I purchased from a bookstore, and reflect on how fortunate I am to have had those experiences.

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