I’m addicted to my phone. I’ve done a lot over the past ~year to distance myself from my phone, and develop a healthier relationship with media and technology, like canceling my music streaming services, but I still feel addicted to my phone.

Things were better a couple months ago, when I had Instagram uninstalled, and slightly less better when I respected my self imposed Screen Time limits on the app.

Not having any microblogging apps has been fantastic. No more compulsive Twitter or Bluesky scrolling, the latter of which isn’t even meaningfully helping correct or abandon the evils of Twitter. Little note: if you are still on Twitter, you are funding Elon Musk’s transphobia,^[1] Trump campaign donations, and a littany of other horrors, whether or not you post or just browse.

Instagram is my biggest clutch right now. I’ve distanced myself from Discord, but still compulsively open it occasionally. I have one group chat of friends that is unfortunately on Telegram, an app used mostly by Nazis, drug dealers, crypto scammers and teen Nazi drug dealer crypto scammers. (TELEGRAM STOP ASKING ME FOR MY BIRTHDAY).

I reinstalled Instagram in the first place to post from the Scenic Routes account for work, but have since logged back in to my personal account. I think having the app installed at all is a hazard to my mental health, time and relationship with technology. Unfortunately, I’m about to move, meet a ton of people at orientation and elsewhere in NYC, and Instagram has successfully made itself the broker of social connection for my age group.

I could move to using Instagram only on my computer, or keep the app and impose harsher screen time restrictions on it, but I’m wary of that.

Email me.