I am considering leaving social medias -again

13/12/2024

Two weeks ago, I decided to focus on increasing my Instagram following. I put in some effort, gained over 100 followers in just one week, and even had a post reach +65k views. However, out of those 100 followers, only one subscribed to the newsletter via email. That’s a very low conversion rate, which led me to question the effectiveness of Instagram for my project. Here are some of my thoughts:

• By forcing myself to share content on Instagram, I spend too much time editing posts, doubting my work, and doing shallow tasks. I would prefer a solution that allows me to focus more on thinking, writing, and learning.
• On the other hand, Instagram is a universal tool widely used for communication and discovery. The main reason I created an account was to connect with more athletes for interviews and promote new podcast episodes. Finding an alternative that matches Instagram’s versatility is challenging. Recently, I came across an interesting postabout fragmented attention on social media, and now I’m considering reading this book to explore better strategies for spreading my project.
• I dislike being dependent on an algorithm, and I dislike forcing athletes to use social medias to access my content.
• I have a complicated relationship with Instagram. I deleted my personal account two years ago and rarely used it before that. But since I started using it again, I find Instagram makes me feel obsessed, stressed, and sometimes depressed after the initial dopamine rush of discovering interesting content. Deleting my personal account was a relief in 2022, and after a few months, I no longer felt the fear of missing out.

Therefore I’m considering stepping away from Instagram entirely in 2025, as I believe it would be best for my mental health. LinkedIn, on the other hand, remains practical, and I have a healthier relationship with the platform, so I plan to keep using it. Stay informed without relying on social media by subscribing to this newsletter via email.