Delete Social Media

The negatives of major social media apps are no longer a big secret. Countless articles have covered the “fear of missing out” phenomenon, unhealthy body image issues stemming from comparison and filters, and addictive behavior across the board. The list goes on and on.

What started out as social media is turning into something else. Especially on Instagram, our friends’ posts are often overshadowed by ads and influencers. I don’t know whose corgi I was just watching for four minutes, who this person is giving me tips on when to wear a belt, or why I’ve seen so many ads for Athletic Greens.

Instagram: Close Friends → AI Bots

Whatever your thoughts on Meta, you have to wonder what the future of Instagram looks like when their execs have suggested filling the app with AI characters (or bots). Our feeds could be overwhelmed with even more perfect looking people living 100% fake perfect lives.

My hot take? Most of the people on my Instagram feed might as well be AI now. I don’t know them and I’ll never meet them. Your real friends are becoming background characters. At best, they are your shopping buddies at the Mall of Instagram.

Meta hasn’t grown into a $1.7 trillion company by necessarily always choosing what’s best for the consumer. Recent announcements suggest that maybe they’ve given up on mental health and are charging forward toward an app full of influencers, products, and ads. These moves clearly aim to improve time spent in the app, grow ad revenues, and compete with TikTok and others.

Is there any incentive to “go back” to a cozier Internet with friends?

#DeleteInstagram

I read an App Store review for Happyfeed last week with the hashtag #DeleteInstagram and it stirred up an old thought. It’s always been my goal for Happyfeed to be a more close-knit, positive place for sharing memories. But how can a small indie app compete with social media giants such as Instagram? This lofty goal is seeming less and less implausible as Instagram shifts to address different needs and Happyfeed grows in ways that can best fulfill those original promises.

1. Changes in Instagram create a void.

While Instagram and TikTok battle for minutes of engagements, tweaking the perfect algorithm with their teams of AI engineers, an empty space is starting to grow. That space is our desire to know what our friends are up to, to engage directly with people we care about, and maybe even meet a few people who we could bump into IRL.

As the app shifts toward a new paradigm, so does the way we think about it. Are you excited to open Instagram to see what your friends are up to? Or is it an impulse to check the app every chance you find a moment to yourself? Do you feel better or worse after those five minutes of tapping and scrolling?

Aside from possibly wreaking havoc on our mental health, Instagram just isn’t doing what it originally promised. As algorithms and addictive patterns improve, we forget what brought us there in the first place.

2. Instagram alternatives evolve to fill that space.

Over a decade, Happyfeed has grown from a mental health app into a real contender in this space. Most people wouldn’t think of a gratitude journal as an Instagram alternative.

But what about a photo journal? Getting closer…

What about a photo sharing app based focused on small groups? Heating up…

What if you could easily add and view videos? And focused on finding more value from past memories with sharable throwbacks and recaps? Maybe!

Two years ago I had a conversation with a student at Northwestern University. She had tried out Happyfeed and wanted to chat about app development and future plans. We spent an hour discussing how Happyfeed might actually replace Instagram for her friend group. At the time, it didn’t have video – definitely a dealbreaker. By the end of 2024, video was available on both iOS and Android and I noticed more young people flocking to the app.

This is just one example of the steps necessary to grow toward this goal.

In reality, the space created by changes to Instagram won't be filled by a single app. While Happyfeed moves to replace your personal photo feed and close connections, other apps might build better editing features or spots to share memes and favorite products.

(Quick aside: I’m always happy to chat with students about app development, the mental health space, and everything in between.)

What’s in a social media replacement?

It’s a helpful exercise to consider the aspects of Instagram that made people so excited to try it out and share it with friends in the early days. What was missing before it launched and what needs did it solve that others could not?

• To give you a place to share memories – Whether it’s to keep your family updated, savor a fun weekend, or maintain those not-super-close (yet?) relationships.
• To create a feed of special photos from your life – Generally less cluttered and more intentional than your photo library or huge photo dumps on Facebook.
• To bring a bit of joy to capturing moments – It’s FUN to take photos of new things, at different angles, with weird poses. Knowing those posts are just for you, and maybe your friends, allows us to relax and just enjoy it.

I’ve written a little more extensively about what a Private Instagram Alternative could look like. My goal for Happyfeed isn’t to become the New Instagram, but much of what it does already aligns with the needs and desires that brought people to the original Instagram.

Aim Higher

Maybe it’s better to think about what a replacement for Instagram can improve on instead of what features they lack. This is where we get to have some fun building Happyfeed. These kinds of decisions also help ensure that we don’t choose the same paths that led other apps to abandon what made them so delightful in the beginning. And of course, 2025 isn’t 2012 and we want to ride the advances in tech and shifts in vibes.

You Don’t Need to Delete Anything

I’m not sure I would recommend that everyone completely deletes social media or Instagram from their devices, but it is important to limit the negative effects it can have on your mental health. It’s good to send funny videos to friends, good to see that your college friend recently had a child, and good to enjoy the occasional random corgi video.

Recognize what it’s good for, recognize what it’s becoming, and take advantage of Apple’s Screen Time limits if you’re having troubles. I finally added them on my iPhone this year and I doubt I’ll go back.

Final thoughts: “Do All Good Things Turn Bad?”

Most popular apps have mastered the art of grabbing our attention. They get us addicted by showing us whatever will trigger a little dopamine from our brains and keep us scrolling, tapping, and buying. When these tricks are used to nudge us to buy unnecessary products from Temu by making us feel bad about our bodies and lives, companies can make a lot of money at our expense. Especially when revenue is linked to ads, it’s hard to untangle the two. Showing only ads for real, helpful, quality products is a massive undertaking!

Some apps (I hope) use these tricks to help you. Strava uses groups and segment PRs to encourage more exercise, Duolingo uses streaks to encourage language learning, and meditation apps use similar tactics to help you find Calm. Sometimes these apps are acquired and the new owners add more addiction, higher prices, and more optimization.

Keeping an app good is an uphill battle. At least “Happy” is in our name and has been a North Star for over 11 years 😊