How I Broke the Short-Form Addiction
Everybody says beating short-form addiction is necessary. There are studies showing how harmful it can be to the body and mind. But nobody talks about how to actually quit the short-form addiction, especially TikTok and Instagram Reels. The epidemic is so widespread that people have even started building apps that mimic the functions of TikTok and Reels, but supposedly deliver useful content instead.
In India, TikTok is banned, and I hardly ever used Instagram Reels. I am not into posting private pictures on Instagram. I enjoy taking good photos with my iPhone. I am a closet photographer who loves improving the craft of taking good pictures. So I like posting them on Instagram as a way of preserving memories.
It all started when I engaged with a Reel that talked about an interesting gadget. Then I began seeing all of their videos: headphones, desktop essentials, and increasingly advanced but expensive gizmos. Then I moved on to funny scenes from old sitcoms like Two and a Half Men, Friends, Seinfeld, the usual culprits.
I then gradually began engaging with other kinds of content that was more user-created and genuinely insightful. A month passed before I realised that I had been using Instagram far more than I used to. I checked my screen time, and that was a shocker. My average time spent was one hour every day. Even on weekdays. I hated myself for falling into the trap.
So naturally, I reverse-engineered my addiction. That is why I explained above how it happened. It really is a trap. It starts with something meaningless, harmless and fun, and before you know it, you are deep into it. Someone who would never use Instagram had become someone who was regularly sharing reels with his friends.
I could have done so many other things with that one hour I wasted each day. I could have had more fun with my wife instead of sharing reels with her. Everybody thinks it is harmless, but to me, it was a shocker, a deal breaker. So first, I reverse-engineered my addiction. If you are someone who is struggling with a similar problem, you need to identify and call out the pattern through which you engage.
Every time I picked up my phone, my hand instinctively went to Instagram. I noticed it and actively prevented it. I moved the Instagram app into the App Library so I would have to work harder to locate it. Break the muscle memory.
Instead, I replaced it with Twitter, where the algorithm was already designed according to my taste. I would be forced to read about topics that I am genuinely interested in, which is anything but politics.
This was not enough. I turned off notifications for Instagram so I would never know when somebody had shared a Reel with me. Not even Instagram could nudge me into using it. Every time my hand moved to open Instagram, I would call it out: I am using Instagram.
This created a repulsion in my mind because it reminded me that I was doing something I was not supposed to be doing.
I immediately closed the app and opened Twitter. I know it is another social media platform, but the behaviour is vastly different because of how I have defined the algorithm. Training your mind to read content versus training your mind to consume content has a vast difference. When you are reading content, you are actively participating. You are engaging with the topic. Consuming mindless content makes you passive.
I would not say I am out of the woods yet. There is progress, but the urge is still there. I could delete the app to force an exile, but that would mean I gave up. I want to win the battle against addiction by keeping the app but only using it when I want to. I still want to post my photos there whenever I want, but I do not want to be a slave to Instagram's algorithm.
I have been using other reading apps that give me ideas about nonfiction books. I am also working on finishing my novel. Giving myself a mission is a better idea than simply restraining myself. You can never get rid of an addiction if you leave an empty space. You have to fill that space with something else.
If you are struggling with a similar addiction, I wish you all the luck in the world. Know that you are not bad. The algorithm is genuinely designed to keep us hooked. And that is why it is even more important to win this battle at any cost.
We are a strong, powerful race. We will not be subjugated by a goddamn machine!