Everything in Moderation
Ashokan Resevoir | July 2025
Recent experiences prompted my hasty decision to delete Instagram off my phone - I blamed the app for influencing me into attending a few pop-up events that left me disappointed and dumbfounded. But was it really the app’s fault or my lack of self-moderation? I guess you could say both.
If I hadn’t been mindlessly scrolling, I wouldn’t have seen the ads for these events. The algorithm knows me well — so well it shows me the type of local events “past-me” would have attended without hesitation. These days, money is tight, and prices have skyrocketed for everything so I have no business attending events selling $20 bars of chocolate, or a $28 glass of sake (insert mind-blowing emoji here).
Is it Instagram’s fault I I seek joy and escape in these type of events? Are past tendencies re-surfacing, because I’m questioning everything about myself and what I can contribute to society?
There’s a lot to unpack and these experiences served as a catalyst for me to reflect, and dig deeper through writing.
The first couple weeks sans Instagram felt a bit like…withdrawal. I even Google’d symptoms of social media withdrawal and yep, I felt irritable, angsty, and a bit depressed that I couldn’t easily share my garden photos. I jumped into sharing on Substack, but it just wasn’t the same. I missed the instant gratification of likes and views. Substack also felt “noisy” in its own way - too many words, SO many words. Like legit essays. I started to feel intimidated and incompetent - my writing felt childish compared to these think pieces.
At the same time, I came across posts that resonated with me - some encouraged writing whatever you want to write, using the platform more like a daily journal or old school blog. And like with anything, writing is a practice - the more you write, the better the writing.
I’ve since re-installed Instagram but have yet to post again. I’m testing out their built-in time management tool so that I can be more mindful of how much time I spend on the app, because I must admit, a lot of good things have come from my time on Instagram.
It’s not all noise and chaos. There is beauty, the type of beauty that is nuanced and mindful.
It doesn’t have to be all or nothing (very typical response for me - more on that another time) but everything in moderation, right?
It’s time for a reset - let’s put down the phone, go outside and enjoy breath-taking views like these.
Ashokan Rail Trail | July 2025
All images © Lillian Liming - do not use without permission