What I got from going off Instagram stories

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limited All rights reserved. Much of our communication has shifted to performative broadcasting. (iStockphoto) Summary Stopping low-stakes voyeurism on social media reduced my cognitive load and built stronger friendships It’s been over three-and-a-half months since I stopped watching Instagram Stories. I was never a compulsive watcher; I only reviewed a handful of people’s stories. But consciously not checking it at all, especially when I saw three green circles in a row — the unmistakable indicator that someone was sharing something only with “close friends” — was quite something. It started quite suddenly. In the first week of July, a minor medical accident landed me in a hospital bed for a few hours. A first experience that shook me more than I expected. I was soon discharged, but recovery took up to two weeks. Work deadlines were approaching, and I was between houses, with most of my stuff packed in one, renovation chaos in another. Everything became a little too much. One of the things I then decided to do to reduce my cognitive load was to stop checking Instagram Stories for some time. Because we all know it’s an obvious endless loop of distraction and low-stakes voyeurism. Two weeks passed. As I began to feel better, I felt that returning to Stories began to feel like stepping back into noise. So I decided to turn what started as a temporary digital detox into something more permanent. I did wonder if, as someone who writes about the internet, I might be missing out on story ideas by not watching Stories. After all, it’s the first line of digital shipping for so many people now. But then again, miss is a given. You just decide what you can give a miss. Why does one of the buzziest features of the most habit-forming app of our time dictate how I spend my time? I will totally understand if someone, after reading this, decides not to watch my stories either. The best outcome of this experiment was how some friendships deepened just because of it. I mentioned to a few friends that I won’t be seeing Stories anymore, and now they’re sending me updates—from new bedding to community tragedies—because they know I won’t be seeing them on Instagram. It’s heartwarming: the small act of someone thinking, “Oh, she won’t see this online, let me tell her directly.” What started as a border has quietly become a bridge. These friendships now feel more intentional. The connection feels stronger with people who actually care to reach out: those who choose to share one-on-one after they’ve done one-on-five, or maybe even before. It got me thinking about how much of our communication has otherwise shifted to performative broadcasting, and how quietly most of us have accepted it as the norm. There is something preciously analogous to someone choosing to tell you something insignificant in private in these uber-digital times, knowing that you won’t be among the thousands who have already seen it flash and disappear on a screen. It gives me hope that our connections can survive, even thrive, beyond the platforms that started with the promise of bringing us closer but ended up doing so much more, and not all of it well. Get all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates. more topics #socialmedia #MentalHealth Read next story