Staying Sane on Instagram: 5 Essential Rules to Beat Envy

Social media today is not just about entertainment; it’s also about work. This means we can’t simply walk away from it. We must acknowledge the incredible power these platforms hold in society, but we shouldn’t let them control our lives. For the sake of our happiness, it’s crucial to set five personal rules for using social media.

Remember, Social Media Can Evoke Negative Emotions

Numerous studies show that social media can make us feel depressed and lonely, with Instagram being a major culprit. Part of the blame lies in its algorithm, which shows endless content, encouraging us to keep opening the app and scrolling. The more you look at photos of beautiful people, the more beauty the system will show you.

A 10-year-old YouTube channel owner, Alina, organized a meet-up for her fans, but no one showed up. She expressed her despair in a new video, explaining how she prepared for the meeting: buying candy and planning a contest with prizes. The video of Alina crying was watched by about 650,000 people, and famous bloggers even recorded their videos in support. The trend is clear: people are becoming more dependent on social media recognition.

Remember, your mind has so much space. Why fill it with celebrities you don’t know and photos of people who make you envious?

There’s another side to this. Many people defend their social media pages, claiming that friends will always support them in tough times. But in practice, you find that out of five thousand followers, only a hundred will react to a sad post, usually with just a dry like. Is this really the reaction you expect? It might be worth investing more in real-life relationships.

Remember, Everyone Lies

Fashion magazines with glamorous images of thin and beautiful people used to be enemy number one. Now, we don’t trust these photos: it’s easy to spot Photoshop, and such advertising campaigns look unnatural. The media is embracing a trend towards naturalness.

Instagram photos, supposedly showing real life, are also deceptive. Users are actively using Photoshop to remove acne, slim waists, and pose in clothes they haven’t even bought, not to mention the magic of filters. Everyone posts the best version of themselves on Instagram—happy and perfect. But real life is far from perfect.

For example, take the story of Australian Essena O’Neil, who quickly gained millions of followers admiring her lifestyle and happy smile. One day, she admitted that most of her photos were staged, and behind the casual poses were irritation and depression.

There’s no zen in trying to take a zen photo for social media.

Allow Yourself to Rest

Give yourself time to communicate only with those who don’t cause stress. Spend a weekend with your phone turned off, staying in touch with only a couple of close people. For such cases, I have fake accounts and a second phone number—this way, I can continue my work and check updates from the media I need without being distracted by likes and comments on my posts.

According to the British Journal of Youth Studies, one in five young people wake up at night to check messages, resulting in feeling exhausted during the day. If you have an irrational fear that something terrible will happen, such as missing important news, start small. Turn off notifications and push messages, delete social media apps from your phone, and check them only on your work computer.

Privacy Above All

Tech companies have long been trying to maximize the use of our personal information to show relevant ads or even influence our political views. Remember, the world doesn’t deserve to know all the details of your personal life. Keep important moments to yourself. Don’t post a story just hoping certain people will see it. If you have something to say to them, say it directly.

Psychologists show that after 10 minutes on social media, the level of oxytocin in a person’s blood increases by 13%, meaning stress levels decrease, and feelings of love and trust arise. This sounds good, but in reality, it means that those obsessed with social media are more trusting than other internet users. They also develop a serious addiction to the ‘happiness dopamine.’

Fill Your Time

Here’s what iPhone owners can do: go to battery settings, find the ‘Battery Usage’ section, and click on the clock icon. How much time have you spent on VKontakte in the last 24 hours? Do you often complain about not having enough time to accomplish personal goals? There’s your answer. Instead of spending 20 minutes before bed checking all the updates, write in a journal about the most pleasant event of the day, read a book, or simply meditate.