How to Block Instagram & Find Freedom

The secret to staying off Instagram is simple. Just block it!

When was the last clock you were scrolling Instagram and wholly lost cut of fourth dimension ? possibly you fell down the hashtag rabbit hole or kept swiping up for precisely one more dance baby reel, entirely to look up and realize your entire afternoon was wasted. You ’ re not the only one — we ’ re all guilty of overusing Instagram and other social media from time to fourth dimension. But when the casual gorge spirals out of control, it can become an addiction. While we may believe we ’ re good chatting with friends and having a little fun, we ’ re actually being manipulated into an addictive habit cycle. Over 210 million people worldwide are thought to suffer from social media and internet addiction.

If you want your future Instagram ban to last, you ’ ll need more than good intentions — you ’ ll need a design. Find out how you can take a break dance from Instagram and why it ’ mho long delinquent in this practical guide .

Social Media Addiction Is Real

social media has become a feature of our polish, a phenomenon that will define the twenty-first hundred. As of 2020, over 223 million Americans were active on sociable networks. By 2021, that number had risen to about 295 million, or 82 % of our population. That ’ s a fortune of likes, comments, memes, and messages. Although we all love a good GIF, many question whether social media is addictive. The discipline of cellular telephone call use and social media addiction is everywhere these days. It ’ second no wonder, truly. Review.org recently surveyed Americans 18 and older on their smartphone habits — it turns out we reasonably much can ’ t populate without our phones. Americans, on average, check their phones every four minutes — about 344 times per day. Most of us check our phones within 10 minutes of waking up, and 74 % can ’ t leave our smartphones behind without feeling uncomfortable. Mobile app use is rising, reaching up to 4.8 hours per day, with 142 minutes spent on social media .

Apps like Instagram generate more tax income when you spend more time on them. In the conclusion, companies want to maximize their profits careless of the impingement on our mental health and emotional wellbeing .

You might think, c ’ monday, sociable media is harmless playfulness. It can ’ triiodothyronine be that bad ! And you ’ five hundred be right, technically. social media addiction international relations and security network ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate included in the latest diagnostic and statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ( DSM-5 ) used by health professionals for diagnosis, and neither is a broader internet addiction. That ’ sulfur because, unlike addiction to alcohol or recreational drugs, social media use — even at higher levels — can have benefits. It keeps us connected to loved ones, maintaining and strengthening our relationships. Online communities allow us greater access to support, network, and information than we might otherwise be able to find. These aspects are linked to convinced social outcomes, including trust and cooperation. But researchers assert that although the diagnostic criteria don ’ triiodothyronine formally exist yet, social media addiction is, in fact, quite real. And it ’ s on the rise .

The Negative Effects of Social Media

sociable media consumption has long been the subject of research. The grip that social media has taken over our lives is fascinating, and researchers have turned to science to figure out how and why. Despite sociable media ’ south benefits, research has shown the risks are far more meaning. Some of the problems caused by excessive social media use are : And, of course, there is the gamble of addiction. In a holocene study, 41 % of those surveyed had “ probable addiction or hazard of addiction, ” and 14 % had “ definite or severe addiction. ” Beyond the effects documented by research, social media has many less-studied consequences. “ Doomsurfing ” or “ doomscrolling ” is an internet phenomenon defined as a “ leaning to continue to surf or scroll through bad news program, even though that news is saddening, disheartening, or depressing. ” Doomscrolling is damaging to mental health, triggering anxiety, stress, low, and panic. overuse of social media can besides cause dysphoria, or a country of generalize sadness, agitation, dissatisfaction, or distress .

“ Once we ’ rhenium curating a false visualize of ourselves, on-line or differently, we become alienated from ourselves and we start to not feel actual in the worldly concern, and not tethered to our being, ”

Dr. Anna Lembke said in a New York Times interview .

“ This generates enormous amounts of anxiety and dysphoria, and it ’ s a in truth dangerous place to be. ”

How Instagram Keeps Us Hooked 

yet despite the dangers, we keep scrolling. even though Instagram is not the most popular social media chopine today ( yep, still Facebook ), its popularity has remained sweetheart. 40 % of adults say they use Instagram, of which 76 % are young adults. 73 % of 18- to 29-year-old Instagram users composition using the site daily, and approximately half say they use it multiple times a sidereal day. What makes us continue to use something that is causing us so much injury ? Instagram is designed to be addictive. Behind all the reasonably flat-lays and perfectly posed profile pictures is something called behavioral design. Behavioral design is good what it sounds like — a direction of guiding users ’ demeanor. It ’ s a form of the Hook Model, designed to create a Habit Loop. App developers follow a three-pronged border on to programming social media — motivation, an action, and a gun trigger. It ’ s based on the Fogg Behavior model developed by Stanford professor B.J. Fogg. Applied to Instagram, the model could look like this :

• Motivation: Instagram is associated with the release of “happy hormones” like dopamine and serotonin
• Action: Click on the app and read a comment or see a like
• Trigger: An audible or vibration alert indicating a notification

Apps like Instagram use this model because it works — it successfully creates a habit loop that keeps us coming back for more .

Lost productiveness, genial and emotional harm, intentionally addictive qualities — there are more reasons than ever to kick that Instagram addiction to the bridle !

Using apps to change demeanor international relations and security network ’ thyroxine constantly damaging. Apps can help us increase productiveness or achieve our goals. The trouble arises when companies design them thus that they become addictive. Apps like Instagram generate more tax income when you spend more time on them. In the end, companies want to maximize their profits careless of the affect on our genial health and emotional wellbeing. In fact, Facebook, the parent company to Instagram, was mindful that the Instagram app exacerbated body double issues among teenagers. As reported in the Wall Street Journal, the company ’ s own inner studies revealed just how much injury the app was doing. still, they did nothing to remedy the site — in fact, they planned to launch a children ’ s site ( fortunately, that was scrapped ) .

Scram, Instagram!

Lost productivity, mental and emotional injury, intentionally addictive qualities — today, there are more reasons than always to kick that Instagram addiction to the curb. Yet many of us wonder how to stop checking Instagram or if that ’ s even potential. It ’ s not alone possible — it ’ mho elementary. How to stay off Instagram ? Just block it ! There are many ways to block your access to Instagram :

• delete Instagram account
• temporarily block Instagram
• delete or block the Instagram app on your device
• block the Instagram website on your web browser
• use a block list to block specific websites in the social media category, including Instagram
• use a browser extension to block Instagram and other distractions on the internet
• block the entire internet
• block access to your computer or device entirely

Using Freedom, we ’ ve made it easy to use any of these methods to control your Instagram access. Whether you want Instagram blocked from your devices wholly or barely want to learn how to temporarily block Instagram, we ’ ve got the tools you need. Discover how to delete Instagram from your life with these bit-by-bit guides .

How to block Instagram on an iPhone or Android

To get started, download the Freedom app to your device. If you already have Freedom installed, check to make certain you have the latest adaptation ( Version 5.18.1 ). To find out what adaptation you have, go to Settings and select About Freedom .

Block Instagram on your iPhone

To block Instagram on your io device, open the Freedom app and log in. Tap Blocklists in the penetrate menu, then blue-ribbon Add a Blocklist. Give your new blocklist a name. Scroll down and choose Instagram. Add anything else you want to include in your block session ( toggle on the Social release at the top of the list to automatically add other social media sites ), and suction stop Save in the upper veracious corner . Your new blocklist will now appear on the Blocklists screen. You can edit it at any time by selecting it from the menu . Your following footprint is to choose when your session will start : now, late or recurring. Click the Start Session button in the bottom menu to begin a block seance immediately. Click Blocklists, select your new tilt name, then click Session Settings to return to the frame-up. adjacent wiretap Devices and choose which devices you wish to include in your school term. finally, blue-ribbon either the Session Length or desired End Time, then click Start . You can schedule sessions to start late or recur on multiple days by tapping Sessions in the bottom menu. Select Schedule a Session. Fill in the fields to name it and choose the depart and end times. By nonpayment, there is merely one scheduled school term, but if you want your pulley to repeat, tap Repeats and specify the days. Select your Instagram blocklist via Blocklists, tap Add Session to return to setup, and then Save in the upper berth right corner .

Block Instagram on Your Android Device

You can block Instagram on Android by opening the Freedom app and log in. To start, choose the Blocklists push button from the menu on the penetrate of the screen. From here, choose Manage. Select Instagram in the list of applications and toggle switch to enable it. If you besides want to block the locate, tap the asset sign at the acme of the screen door. Choose Instagram ( and any other knowledge domain you like, or even add your own ). Click Save . You can start a school term right now, belated, or make it recurring. Use the Start now choice to immediately turn off Instagram. Just enter the duration by tapping Length, enter the number of hours you ’ d like to block the app, and chink Start Session. With Start Later, you can schedule a erstwhile seance that occurs mechanically at a particular begin and end prison term. Utilize Recurring Sessions if you would like that session to repeat. Select the days and times you ’ d like to repeat the school term, and you ’ re done .

How to block Instagram on a Mac and Windows computer

beginning by logging in to your Freedom explanation through your browser or desktop app. You ’ ll then be taken to My Sessions, where you can create a blocklist to block Instagram . Click on Add Blocklist and enter a name for your new list. Instagram can be added either by clicking on the summation gestural next to it or by manually typing in the address . If Instagram is the merely locate you want to limit, click Save. To block all social media, select the Social choice to mechanically add sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat. You can besides select individual social media sites manually from the list. once you are satisfied with your list, click Save. Scroll up to My Sessions and you ’ ll see your raw list appear under Block These Distractions. Simply select your new list by clicking the box. following, decide how long the block session will last. Use the arrows to customize the Minutes or Hours, or type directly into the fields . last, determine when to start your session. You should be on the Start Now option by default — if it ’ mho underlined in green, just click Start to block Instagram right aside. To start your block seance late, select the Start Later option, schedule the coveted begin and coating times, and chink Save .

How to use Recurring schedules and Locked Mode to limit your access to Instagram

Consider setting up Recurring Sessions that are customized to your Instagram use. Freedom ’ s Recurring Sessions are a bang-up way to block certain sites, like Instagram, at certain times when you know they can be debatable. multiple sessions can be created for any blocklist. For exemplify, you could block access to Instagram during work hours, when you have a class, or before bed every night. It ’ sulfur besides a bang-up instrument for parents, allowing them to keep an eye on how their children use Instagram. Creating recurring schedules is similar to creating a block list. When you reach the last step of choosing your start time, choose Recurring Session. Give your agenda a name and select your Start and End times. Select the checkboxes for the days you want the schedule to recur, and then click Save.

Find Freedom from Instagram addiction

If Instagram is taking up excessively a lot of your time, consider taking a break. With Freedom, you can end Instagram addiction and get back to the things that sincerely matter .