Let’s address the pocket-sized elephant in the room: Instagram has to die. It’s not the same as it used to be. Or maybe I’m not the same? I know the cliché that we all have toxic relationships with social media. I get it. I wake up; I check my feed. I sit on the toilet; I watch Instagram Reels. I get left alone at a table; I check my DMs. It’s a never-ending cycle. But things are changing. I’m changing. 

I go through phases with Instagram. We break up every few months (I delete the app), then we get back together (I redownload it). I give myself a break from Reels until I find myself inevitably getting bored of doing Wordle and Connections every day and come crawling back. I’m coming to my senses, though, and realizing that Instagram is killing me. Clearly, it’s time for it to die. 

Someone once asked me if I was addicted to the consumption or production aspect of Instagram, which made me think. I suppose both? While I was travelling, I was an avid story poster and wanted to curate my posts to perfection. I would painstakingly choose the song that best matched the vibe, my dumps never lacked a theme, and I organized my highlights like it was a personal portfolio. It was fun. 

Then I came home, and life got boring. I wasn’t climbing big mountains or visiting temples in Asia. Instead, I was going to class in Halifax and sitting at home with my roommate’s cat. I stopped producing as much and started consuming. Then, one day, I thought to myself, what am I doing? I could be doing something productive with my time, like reading the news or playing geography games. Instead, I’m spending five extra minutes on the toilet so I can finish a reel that will give me nothing but a lonely chuckle. It’s sad.

Here I am now, telling everyone that it is time we kill Instagram. Let’s throw ourselves back into the dating world and choose a new alternative. If you’re not doing it for you, do it for me. Is it hypocritical to say? Yes. But I’m not giving it the same amount of attention anymore, and neither should you. 

If you still have Instagram, do us a favour and follow us @watchmgzne. And then delete it. It’s for your own sake.