LatchThinking of quitting Instagram? What people miss and what they don't
When people quit Instagram, the things they tend to miss are invitations and news that only travel through the app, and both can be fixed by telling friends how to reach you. Research on social media breaks has found people feel better on average, and fear of missing out went down even for people who only tracked their use.
Will I disappear from people's lives if I quit Instagram?
A common story: someone is ready to quit Instagram but stuck on one worry. Will friends forget them? Will they miss the party everyone planned in a group chat? A few people who did quit mention friends texting to ask if something was wrong.
Psychologists have a name for this worry. Andrew Przybylski and colleagues defined fear of missing out as "a pervasive apprehension that others might be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent," along with a desire to stay continually connected with what others are doing. In their studies, people with more of it used social media more, and reported lower mood and life satisfaction (Przybylski et al., 2013). The app that's supposed to ease the worry is also where a lot of it comes from.
What research says happens when people take a break
In a Danish experiment, 1,095 people were randomly assigned to stay off Facebook for a week or keep using it. Afterward, the group that stayed off rated their life satisfaction higher, and the gains were largest for heavy users, people who mostly scrolled without posting, and people who tended to envy others online (Tromholt, 2016). The difference was modest, and participants knew which group they were in.
A larger US study paid people to deactivate Facebook for four weeks. They spent more time offline, including with family and friends, and reported higher well-being. They also followed the news less closely, a real trade-off (Allcott et al., 2020).
And in a three-week study of students who limited Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat to 10 minutes each a day, fear of missing out went down, including in the comparison group that only tracked its use (Hunt et al., 2018). Paying attention to your use seems to help on its own.
What people actually miss after quitting Instagram
Invitations that only go out on the app
Some events get organized in Instagram stories or group DMs. This is the most practical thing people miss, and it's the easiest to fix: ask the friends who plan things to text you.
Small news from people you don't talk to often
A new job, a move, a baby. You'll hear the big ones from people who know you. The small ones from people you follow but rarely talk to are what fade, and many people find they're fine with that.
A sense of what everyone's up to
This is the feeling the fear-of-missing-out research describes, and it's the part most people say they don't miss once the first few weeks pass.
How to stay in touch without Instagram
Tell people how to reach you
Post once before you go: "I'm taking a break from Instagram. Text me at..." That stops the "is something wrong?" messages and keeps invitations coming.
Move your close friends to a group chat
A group on WhatsApp, iMessage or Signal covers most of what the app did for the people you care about.
Reach out on purpose
Text someone when they come to mind, or set a reminder to call a friend each week. It's more contact than a like ever was.
Try a break before you delete
If you're unsure, take a month off first. Deactivate the account, or block the app at the times you scroll most. If you decide to leave for good, our guide on how to delete your Facebook and Instagram accounts covers saving your photos first.
What if I need Instagram for messages?
You can keep it for messages and work and still cut out the feed. Our guide on keeping Facebook or Instagram without the feed shows how.
Common questions
Will I lose friends if I quit Instagram?
Close friends usually stay in touch through texts and calls. What tends to fade is small news from people you rarely talk to. Telling people how to reach you before you leave, and moving close friends to a group chat, covers most of it.
How do I deal with FOMO after quitting social media?
Expect it to be strongest in the first weeks. Give friends another way to invite you, reach out to people on purpose, and notice how you feel. In one study, fear of missing out went down even for people who only tracked their social media use.
Is quitting Instagram worth it?
It depends on how you use it. In a Danish experiment, people who took a week off Facebook reported higher life satisfaction, especially heavy users and people who scrolled without posting. A month-long break is a good way to find out for yourself.
Should I deactivate or delete Instagram?
If you're unsure, deactivate or block the app for a month first. Deleting is permanent once the 30-day window passes, so download your photos and messages before you do it.
Where Latch fits
Latch is an app blocker that only unlocks when you scan a key you keep somewhere else: an NFC sticker, a printed QR code, or a number of steps. It's free to start, out now on the App Store and Google Play.
Sources
- Przybylski, A. K., Murayama, K., DeHaan, C. R. and Gladwell, V. (2013). Motivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out. Computers in Human Behavior 29(4). DOI
- Tromholt, M. (2016). The Facebook Experiment: Quitting Facebook Leads to Higher Levels of Well-Being. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 19(11). DOI
- The Copenhagen Post (2017). Danish research: Facebook makes users sad, depressed and lonely. Copenhagen Post
- Allcott, H., Braghieri, L., Eichmeyer, S. and Gentzkow, M. (2020). The Welfare Effects of Social Media. American Economic Review 110(3). AEA
- Hunt, M. G., Marx, R., Lipson, C. and Young, J. (2018). No More FOMO: Limiting Social Media Decreases Loneliness and Depression. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 37(10). DOI
Photo: public domain (CC0).