Hello friends! I am quitting Instagram and will focus more on YouTube and other long-form platforms now. Below is what I wrote to announce this on Instagram.
This isn’t a goodbye, but it kind of feels like one. Instagram has been a huge part of my journey. It is what everything else stemmed from -- my live streaming, my podcasts, my channels. It is where my ideas first found popularity and where I found many friends. It has been the source of much stress and burnout, and I have taken many “breaks” from it over the years to calm down and recharge, this time feels different.
This is not a break. It is a breaking off. Or a break-up. It is a point of almost no return. It is a place you reach when you realise that the problem is not going to go away with band-aids like a one-week break from social media.
It is when you have to stop, even if it breaks your heart a little bit.
A part of me wishes I could tell you all that drives me to leave social media. The other part says I already have, many times, and that I shouldn’t belabour the point. Focus issues, distraction, a thirst for depth that this shallow sea can’t quench. That’s it in a nutshell. Instagram takes a lot more than it gives, and the bigger your account, the more time and effort it takes to maintain. Given a chance, it will swallow your whole day, your mental health, and even your ability to do work of the variety you enjoy.
I am not disappearing of course. I am only leaving the social web. Instagram is the last social network I am still active on (I left Facebook ages ago and Twitter last year) and though I am not deleting the IG account (at least for now), I am going to be posting much less frequently there now.
I am tired. Have been for some time now. I need to spend more time with myself, my loved ones, and my books. And though I would like to think I don’t care much about likes and shares and views on Instagram, I need to care even less.
I informed you a couple of months ago that when October ends, I will be posting less frequently on Instagram. As I move away from the hectic beast that is social media, I should make clear that I am not disappearing. I am only returning to a saner schedule, and a more measured approach to my work. I am returning to writing more regularly again and to making longer format videos on my YouTube channel. Those of you who have been around since the beginning would know that that was how I was originally doing on Instagram. If you would like to keep up with my work, subscribe to my Substack for essays, podcasts, and even occasional videos. See you there!