Instagram Addiction

Perceived Harms and Compulsive Use

• Many describe Reels/Shorts/TikTok as “instant addiction,” especially the endless-scroll, autoplay, algorithmic feed that exploits visuals and quantified status (followers, likes).
• Some share concrete episodes of losing hours to shorts, or watching children already glued to Reels, even while drinking from a bottle.
• Several comment that heavy social media use leaves them feeling worse afterward, not better, despite occasional amusement or dopamine from likes.

Is It Really “Addiction”?

• One group objects to calling Instagram use an “addiction,” arguing it misuses medical terminology and risks over-medicalizing behavior.
• Others counter with behavioral addiction concepts (e.g., gambling), and offer criteria like unwanted, frequent, hard-to-control use that displaces more important activities.
• There’s mention of common reward pathways between substance and behavioral addictions, with GLP‑1 drugs cited as affecting both.

Capitalism, Design Ethics, and Regulation

• Strong frustration at platforms (Meta, Google, TikTok, Reddit, etc.) for making addictive UX (shorts, reels, autoplay, pushy notifications) hard or impossible to disable.
• Debate over whether this is “capitalism’s evil algorithm” or just human greed manifesting under any system.
• Some want a “digital consumer bill of rights”: disabling autoplay, algorithmic feeds, fake notifications; enforcing chronological feeds; EU-style regulation is predicted by some.
• Others defend site owners’ freedom to design as they wish; users should vote with their feet or use browser-side modifications.

Coping Strategies and Tools

• Common tactics: deleting apps, using only desktop versions, disabling notifications, DNS blocking, using RSS instead of in-app subscriptions, or time-based locks (e.g., systemd service, MDM-based phone blocker).
• Numerous technical tools are mentioned: browser extensions (Unhook, user scripts), privacy-friendly mobile clients (NewPipe, Freetube), patched/“distraction-free” Instagram builds, and DNS or Pi‑hole–style blocking.
• Non-technical habits: reading books with the phone in another room, journaling, phoneless walks, physical notebooks, and daily to-do lists before “guilt-free scrolling.”

Boredom, Attention, and Long-Term Effects

• Several emphasize reclaiming boredom (walking, commuting, quiet time) as crucial for creativity and focus, contrasting it with constant feed consumption.
• Concern that ubiquitous short-form content is degrading attention spans, making reading difficult and potentially harming work, learning, and mental health over decades.

Individual Differences and Article Style

• Some say they’re largely immune or even repelled by shorts, suggesting the algorithms simply haven’t “hit” their interests.
• Others describe profound struggles and shame around compulsive scrolling.
• Multiple commenters found the article’s all-lowercase style off-putting or harder to read, comparing it to the unstructured flow of an infinite feed.