I Need to Get Off of Instagram
By: Sarah Hampton
October 7, 2025
Image taken by @dole777
I recently participated in a media content analysis project for one of my courses and realized just how much time I spent on Instagram. For this assignment, we were asked to analyze what content we were consuming, whether it is in the form of a website, social media platform, or even an entertainment platform. We had to write down the time and date for when we engaged with the content, what the content was about, and the overall emotions it brought us. This project was very eye opening for me as it made me realize just how much time I spent on Instagram. While looking through my data, I noticed that whenever I was not doing schoolwork or work, I was on Instagram.
Here is the data that I collected:
Like mentioned before, when looking at all of the data I had collected, I realized that the majority of the content that I had engaged with was through the social media platform Instagram. I will say, I was very happy about the content that I was engaging with. It was mostly promotional content with the occasional post about entertainment or a topic that interested me. For example, most of the content was related to events that I wanted to attend such as the tour that Twenty One Pilots just recently announced. The main forms of content that I engaged with through Google were websites that related to what I was doing in the moment. For example, when writing a devotional about season of change, I was having a hard time remembering Bible verses, so I looked up verses for the specific moment.
Content Platform Analysis
Looking back at all of the data I have collected, I think it speaks to how the newer generations operate. The younger generations are more likely to engage with social media and entertainment platforms compared to the older generations. When it comes to how we fill out time, it is most likely through engaging with content on these platforms. I would not say social media is a bad thing, but for me, a full time college student and worker, I don’t really have disposable time and it is very easy to fall into the trap of doomscrolling. In search of a solution, I used the Google search bar, that I apparently rarely use, to look up different means of limiting my time on social media. I found many different apps that block my usage such as Opal, and even devices that have the ability to block such as Brick. It is funny, because I actually started utilizing Opal several months ago to limit my screen time on social media, but apparently I wasn’t using it enough. Because of this experiment and research, I adjusted my settings on Opal and now I am limited to 30 minutes a day on all social media platforms. Statistically, Opal has saved me from spending many hours of my life doomscrolling. After having the app for 134 days, I have saved 2,813 hours, which is pretty insane to me.
In response to my research, I wanted to create a fun representation of my findings and provide a potential solution for those who are struggling with the same tendencies as me. Naturally, I chose to create an Instagram carousel guide with suggestions and solutions of how to not “brain rot” or doomscrolling.
How to not Brain Rot: Instagram Carousel Guide:
