I Deleted Instagram for Two Weeks and Here’s What Happened

The phone just… sitting there. Not controlling my entire life. Revolutionary. Photo: Unsplash

The average person unlocks their phone 96 times a day. I know this because I looked it up during one of my many daily phone-checking sessions. The irony wasn’t lost on me.

I’ve known for a while that my relationship with my phone — specifically with social media — was probably not great. The way I’d reach for it first thing in the morning before I even got out of bed. The way I’d open Instagram without consciously deciding to, like my thumb had a mind of its own. The way I’d look up from scrolling and realize an hour had disappeared.

So I decided to try a digital detox. Two weeks without Instagram, TikTok, Twitter (I still refuse to call it X), Facebook, and Snapchat. And honestly? It was both harder and more transformative than I expected.

That stat comes from a new Georgetown University study that tracked what happens when people actually commit to a digital detox. The researchers found that even partial detoxes — not going full flip phone, just cutting back — can produce benefits on par with cognitive behavioral therapy for improving mental health symptoms.

On par with therapy! From just using your phone less!

Week One: The Withdrawal Period

I’m not going to lie, the first three days were rough. My hands kept reaching for my phone instinctively. I’d catch myself typing the first letter of Instagram into my browser multiple times a day before remembering oh right, I’m not doing that anymore.

The phantom scrolling was real. I’d be sitting on my couch with nothing to do and my brain would just… not know what to do with itself. Boredom felt almost physically uncomfortable in a way I dont think I’d ever experienced before.

Maya’s Take:

According to a study published in JAMA Network Open, a one-week reduction in social media use led to a 16% decrease in anxiety, a 24.8% decrease in depression symptoms, and a 14.5% decrease in insomnia. But the study also found that people’s overall screen time didn’t actually go down that much — they just replaced social media with other phone activities.

That happened to me too. I wasn’t on Instagram but I was suddenly reading way more news articles, playing more phone games, watching more YouTube videos. The social media was gone but the screen addiction was alive and well.

Week Two: Something Shifted

Around day eight something clicked. The compulsive phone-reaching slowed down. The phantom scrolling stopped. And I started doing other things with my time — reading actual books, taking walks without my phone, having conversations without mentally composing posts about them afterward.

The Real Changes:

This tracks with the research. NPR reported on a study where participants who blocked internet access on their phones for two weeks reported better sleep, more time in nature, more socializing, and feeling more connected to other people. The improvements in depression symptoms were actually comparable to — or even greater than — what you’d see from antidepressants.

I’m not saying delete your phone instead of taking medication (please don’t do that). But the magnitude of the effect surprised the researchers too.

The Weird Part

Here’s something nobody talks about with digital detoxes: the loneliness that comes from realizing how much of your social connection happens through apps.

During those two weeks, I missed people’s birthdays because Facebook wasn’t reminding me. I was out of the loop on what my friends were up to. I missed inside jokes and memes and cultural moments. When I came back, it felt like everyone else had been at a party I wasn’t invited to.

The Catch:

The researchers found that improvements during detox came mostly from reducing “problematic engagement” — the comparison scrolling, the doom scrolling, the getting-worked-up-about-strangers’ opinions scrolling. Not from reducing connection itself.

What I’m Doing Now

I downloaded the apps back. I know, I know. But I’m using them differently now.

I set up time limits — 30 minutes a day total for social media. I turned off notifications for everything except texts and calls. I deleted TikTok permanently because that app in particular had a stranglehold on my attention span. I started charging my phone across the room at night instead of next to my bed.

According to Freedom’s research, 81% of Gen Z workers wish disconnecting was easier, and the same percentage support regular digital detoxes becoming part of workplace culture. This isn’t just a personal problem — it’s a collective one. We’ve built a society that makes it almost impossible to unplug.

Maya’s Take:

My Recommendations

If you’re thinking about trying a digital detox, here’s what I learned:

Start small. You don’t have to delete everything for two weeks. Even cutting your screen time in half can make a difference. The Georgetown study found that even partial detoxes — people who didn’t fully succeed at cutting out internet — still saw improvements.

Be aware of replacement behaviors. If you stop scrolling Instagram and start watching four hours of YouTube instead, you haven’t really solved the problem.

Tell people you’re doing it. I told my close friends I’d be offline, which meant they knew to text me directly if they needed me. It also added accountability.

Notice how you feel. The first few days sucked but by day eight I genuinely felt better. If you quit on day three you miss the good part.

Biscuit, unsurprisingly, preferred the version of me that wasn’t constantly looking at my phone instead of at him. He’s been very clear about this through what I can only describe as aggressive cuddling whenever I pick up my phone now.