Glued to your phone by Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube or TikTok. Five Windesheimers tell why they quit social media and what they gained from quitting.
‘Ryan: ‘It works like a kind of drug’
Journalism student Ryan de Jong used to spend about eight hours a day on his phone. Until he asked himself: what am I actually doing?
“A little over a year ago I deleted all my social media apps off my phone. First Snapchat and BeReal and as a last ‘hurdle’ also Instagram. I was going crazy with all the notifications and the obligation to respond and I noticed that I was really addicted to it.
I had developed an automatism that after unlocking my phone I would immediately unconsciously go to Instagram. And then scroll for a long time. I spent an average of eight hours a day on my phone. At one point I suddenly thought: what am I actually doing? That was a realization moment.
Now that I’ve quit, I don’t miss anything about social media. I sometimes talk about it with others and ask why they don’t delete it too. Then I get the answer that they’re afraid of missing things. For example, what someone is doing, or a message. I think: if there’s something important, people will text me.
In the months after I deleted everything, I did some research on how social media works. And did a project about it for my study programme. I learned a lot from that. For example, that every time you get a like or a DM, you can get a short dopamine boost. So if you are often on social media, you get a lot of those ‘small moments of happiness’. And you want more of that and more often. And that is why you keep coming back to those apps. So it works like a kind of drug. That can be very damaging to your brain. And especially if you are already prone to addiction, you have to be extra careful. Since I deleted all those apps, I experience more mental peace. That was also my goal. I am now much less easily distracted, better focused and I have more time for other things. I can really recommend quitting social media to everyone.”
Nia:’You will look at yourself differently’
Nia Manoppo, a Communication & Media student, became insecure from watching others.
“I have a sister who is seven years older and she was my role model when it came to using social media. She left Snapchat and then I thought: ‘ah, when I get older, that won’t be a thing anymore’.
Before I deleted my social media apps, I had about six hours of screen time. I mainly scrolled a lot on Instagram and TikTok. During COVID, sometimes for two hours at a time. I also didn’t feel as good about myself back then. You’re constantly looking at other people on those apps. Of course, everyone only posts positive things on social media, so you get a distorted picture. And then you only think that your life is worse than that of others. If you feel insecure, and you see other women with a certain body, you also start to look at yourself differently. Like: ‘oh, you should look like that too’.
Now I feel completely fine. So if I would be on Instagram now it wouldn’t affect me, but when you’re sixteen and you’re still discovering yourself and you see all these kinds of ‘beauty standards’, it will definitely affect you.”
Martijn: ‘My attention span is longer now’
Martijn, a first-year Information & Communication Technology student, quit a few months ago. He has better focus now and more time on his hands.
“For me, the sore point was Instagram. During every moment of silence or boredom, I immediately found my way to Reels. It had become a reflex. Even while waiting in game queues, I looked at them. I lost a lot of time with it and I noticed that my attention span was seriously deteriorating.
I realized that I was watching Reels even in between games. That was the point where I decided to stop. Since then I have noticed that my attention span is back to normal or even longer. This feels like a huge improvement.
I do have less contact with some people I used to talk to a lot on social media. But apart from that, I don’t really miss Instagram, I don’t suffer much from FOMO.
I think a lot of people don’t realize how much time they actually spend on social media. That’s why I would advise everyone to stop, absolutely. It’s really worth it to experience how much more focus and time you get back.”
(This student only wants to share his story anonymously, Martijn is not his real name.)
Jorn: ‘No longer a slave to my phone’
Nursing student Jorn Duinkerken quit social media six years ago. But it is a long process, the temptation remains strong.
“I spent about an hour and a half to two hours a day on my phone, mainly for Facebook and Instagram. I would scroll or watch reels. I worked as a package delivery person at the time and drove al lot. But I would even grab my phone while driving if I got a social media notification.
Life is short. When you’re young, it doesn’t feel like that. But as I got older I realized that it is. My social media use felt like a waste of time to me. That’s why I deleted both apps. But after a while, I reinstalled Facebook. I thought to myself: I have a thousand friends, it’s a waste to throw that away. But when I heard myself think that, I knew it had to be over.
After that I noticed changes in my behavior. For example, before I had a fixed spot in my work car where I left my phone, but I still reached for it constantly even though my phone was no longer there!
Until recently I still used YouTube, but I’m trying to get rid of that too. I often watch kickboxing on it, so I don’t know if that will ever work. YouTube has a function called ‘YouTube Shorts’, which works the same as Instagram Reels. That still attracts me every now and then, but I can defend myself against it well.
I think I’m taking in less and less nonsense. That has given me more space in my head. More and more I can also enjoy birds singing or the rustling of leaves on the trees. It’s given me a lot of time, and also some hope for the future: that I’m not constantly on my phone like a slave.”
Marit:’You only see a world of illusion’
Reading a good book, playing the piano or calling her grandma. Marit Blokzijl-Stoffers, lecturer in the Logistics Management programme, experiences more peace and has more ‘real’ conversations.
“After I quit Instagram and Snapchat, I really went through withdrawal symptoms. I was still very much in my habit of scrolling and looking at things. I switched to LinkedIn and started to go through my entire timeline out of habit, but I soon discovered that LinkedIn is even less interesting. After I deleted that app, I had a period where I was refreshing my mailbox non-stop. It wasn’t until a few weeks later that it started to get better and I realized: I don’t have to keep picking up my phone, because there’s nothing to scroll through anymore. My screen time went from five hours a day to about half an hour.
Instagram, Snapchat… it’s a waste of time. You just sit there and watch how great other people’s lives are. But it’s a world of illusion. I once spoke to a friend about all the nice things I had seen on her Instagram, but after a while she told me she was overworked at home. Well, you don’t share something like that on social media.
Because of social media, you always long for things you don’t have or aren’t doing. As a result, you are constantly pursuing something that you can’t have at that moment. It made me insecure because I started comparing my life to that of others. And when I did something fun, like a city trip, I was only concerned with the photos I wanted to post. If the atmosphere didn’t seem right, I was afraid that the photo would come across as if I wasn’t having a nice holiday.
I can focus much better these days and am more productive at work. When I think at home ‘what should I do?’, I pick up a book or play the piano that I recently bought. I also call my grandmother and my parents more often. And I have much nicer conversations with friends and close colleagues. I now hear real stories and know more about people than what is on their social media.”
Text: Sibren Veenbliet
Text about Marit: Wouter van Emst
Illustrations: Judy Ballast
