I’m 20 & I’ve never had Instagram - I’m happy about it.

I deleted IG/FB/Twitter a few years ago and it has greatly improved my mental state. Every time I think "oh I wish I could post this", I stop to think about the underlying reason for it and it nearly always comes down to attention seeking (often from negative sources, like ex's.) So instead, I text or call a friend or my family. You can still accomplish many of your ideas on KZfaq, like live streams w/ chat, shorter vids for feedback / whatever it may be. I've found that KZfaq is generally more positive as you can build a little community here of people that care.

I recently deleted almost all of my social media accounts because I started to feel incredibly disconnected and empty inside. I don't care to see what people are doing throughout their day and it only gets more exhausting to pretend that you care. I feel like my brain is refreshed from detoxing from the materialistic and superficial posts in my feed. I've found that picking up a good book or testing out new recipes has cured my boredom. It's wonderful that you are bringing attention to this.. it truly leads to a more enriching and fulfilling life.

Honestly I’m considering quitting social media too, it had a negative impact on my mental health with the unrealistic expectations.

Not being on social media is actually a growing trend, and I'm so happy about it, because I share all your views and concerns. Thanks for being one of the special ones that realizes we are actually doing a disservice to ourselves. Massive appreciation for your choice

KZfaq is social media. Its algorithm is doing to me the same thing Instagram was doing to you, in terms of sending me down rabbit holes. It has addicted me to productivity porn.

The way I look at it is that you have to control the algorithm before it controls you. Lots of pros of social media but it's easy to fall down the wrong rabbit hole

I quit four months back. One of the best decisions i made. I wasn’t a heavy social media consumer but i was average, yet now i feels like i saved few hours per day! I started to workout, started to watch documentaries, sleep early etc. Genuinely feels like i’ve upgraded my life.

I’ve deleted all social media besides KZfaq. It’s been almost a year now and it’s done wonders for my mental health. I found myself being so consumed in the opinions of others and stressing out over numerous problems that do not concern me. Yes KZfaq is still social media with tailored algorithms, but the education that KZfaq provides has helped me in so many ways that Instagram/Twitter/Snapchat etc has not. Great video 👍🏽

The most non-normal thing I've normalized using Instagram is putting yourself at the center of everything you do. _I took this picture, I went to this place, I saw this scenery, I achieved this body, I was at this event..._ It's never about the thing you're capturing and always about what it says about _you._ Which sucks the fun out of everything and tends to make people desperate for attention.

talking to our mom and dad for 10 -15 minutes is more interesting than scrolling down fow 1 - 2 hours 😀😀

You're completely right with saying social media is attention seeking. It is. And seeking attention is a very universal thing now, because we lack a certain core confidence in ourselves, we don't believe that we intrinsically matter. Being on social media is kind of feeling the need to prove that we worth it to be alive. But the truth is: we're worth it, whatever other people say or think. We don't need social media. Not at all.

Quiting Instagram was the best thing ever. I can finally live as me and be truley and entirely real rather than comparing my life to superficial posts online which are obviously a fake representation of life. I can be true to my passions and stop living to impress

I cherish mh privacy more than anything and the fact that I was thrown in my face with posts of everyones daily lives I was feeling the urge to post my life events too and I did ... But when random acquaintances met me in person and judged me or ruined the fun of me telling a new event. I decided I need my space and I left Facebook in 2016 and Instagram in 2020.. never been happier

I deactivated my Instagram 3 months ago, and it was definitely the best decision to myself. I love very much your channel, I am now spending my time painting ( you were my inspiration, I always liked to draw but you inspired me to start painting and I am loving it so much) and studying, I am also applying to study medicine. That video was so necessary, I hope more people realise the dangers of this platform. Thank you dear ❤️

Thank you so much for this! I stopped using Instagram a few months ago too. And I hadn't realized that most of my reasons were the ones u mentioned here. Thank you, Elizabeth. I love your content. 🥰❤️

I love how empathetic and warm this video is on such a sensitive topic that many people are struggling with. Thank you Elizabeth for this, thank you for truly expressing how you feel, and that by itself deepens your genuine connection with the audience here. Loved every minute. Cheers.

This was a great video. I definitely find myself feeling worse about my life when scrolling through Instagram because I compared myself to others. Your filming and editing has improved a lot and I love seeing this part of your flat/room as the background!

i feel the same and i've been going off and on on social media platforms. I think what's important is to live in the reality and make real connections .BTW love your content!!!!

I felt this in my soul. the exact reasons I’m not active on there. thank you for making this video and verbalizing all of these reasons even though it’s the “unpopular opinion”.

I agree with you on this! I wish you good luck and success!

I swear every video you make has such amazing points in it that I never considered; so now I have to go think about that for the next few weeks. The illusion of connecting with your friends is something that I didn't in a million years think about, but it's so true and seems obvious when you say it, but anyway I'm really so happy you found a balance with it!

YESS! So supportive of this. As someone who has deliberately never joined instagram / twitter / tik tok, I am convinced that those types of social media platforms prevent you from really learning about yourself and growing. Now you get to enjoy all the freedom and be in the present moment! :)

Another video I needed! I’ve been battling quitting but I finally fully deactivated my Instagram and I don’t see myself going back anytime soon. And like you said it’s crazy how it feels like rebellion but it’s also freeing.

so insightful and candid! thank you for sharing elizabeth

I can relate to this on a personal level, I’m so glad to have found this channel, it makes my fomo go away

I really really needed this and I can relate to almost all the things you said. I'm going to cut down on the hours I use social media from tomorrow hopefully.

I feel as though you have articulated what I have been trying to explain for ages. You've done it so well thank you very very much

You are actually so lovely and insightful. Keep up with this kind of content!

Absolutely amazing video! Thank you so much for putting this out there! I agree with everything you've stated! Each platform has slightly different issues but the underlying theme of needing to be authentic and real exists in all of them. On twitter I am trying to tackle these problems head on through conscious community engagement and it appears to be working exceedingly well and generating positive results for many people. I wish I had time to put these same ideas into practice on all the platforms!! Thanks again for being "real" with who you are with all of us. The world needs more of that!

I deleted my social media accounts 3 years back and now I completely agree it was really worth it.... You might fell empty and left out at the beginning but trust be when we learn to cope with that the journey with sail smooth

would it be weird if I said I went through the sameee! I'm so glad that you spoke about this! Thank you so much for everything

I felt odd one out for not liking sm, but someone smart like you sharing similar thoughts made me feel so good. Thankyou

Im Happy to see more people talking about it ! I quit all social Media months ago and got back to it only for professional reasons and it's just way better. I only go once a day to post about natural healing and I feel good and that's all. I realized all the mistakes I made like using it to show my personal life. It doesn't feel good to share about everything I am doing like I used to when I was z teenager ! Thanks for your video!

I've had a similar journey. I love how well you express my own concerns. Lots of support in this rebelion 💛

Thanks so much for sharing! I myself am taking a hiatus from social media (Facebook & Instagram) because I too share your sentiments and find it to be way too consuming at times. But what I have found (at least with Instagram) is having two separate accounts… one for family & “friends”… and the other for entertainment and things I thoroughly enjoy & respond to a in a positive way. I do plan on getting back on the platform but more so for creating and building my own community of things I’m interested in. But don’t feel guilty for taking a break, especially if it’s taking a break because you’re away of the negative effects it can have on your mental health. But thanks again and all the best 💕🙂

Breath of fresh air. Always fun to see how you think. Thanks for the honesty.

This video is so interesting for me because I’m in a very similar situation to what you were in. I just graduated high school and was only just allowed social media. I’ve been so excited for the new opportunity to connect with my peers, but also have had some doubtful thoughts like what you’ve presented in this video. It’s really interesting how social media is presented on the surface level as a way to connect with others and strengthen relationships, but is mostly used as a way to present ourselves in the most ideal way possible. It’s hard to say this is “good” or “bad”, since it can serve as a proponent of personal growth. The one thing that does worry me is how it removes a sense of authenticity (as you talked about in this video). In the case that you might see this comment, I’ve only recently come across your channel but I’ve been loving all your content! As an aspiring med student and youtube creator you are an inspiration to me!

Just found your channel!! Love it! Great content! Agreed social media is such a waste of time and so bad for mental health. I still have a few accounts up to be able to message friends but I don't actively participate anymore. I had a refreshing encounter today at a lunch spot with a mom & 3 children. They had zero phones. The kids all had books!! And they had home made toys! Freaking awesome!!

That's a good prescription doc for good mental health. I read somewhere that most of the social media founder or CEO don't allow their children/young adult children become involve their products which says a lot what's being peddled to the general public.

This is a very insightful video. You are correct in so many ways. Social media is toxic. It makes people feel worse and not better. It is a whole popularity game based on fake connections. It’s a sad world really. 😢

Thanks, Elizabeth. This was the cue for me to make a much-needed change, entering the second half of the year tomorrow!

Love all your videos Elizabeth. They are entertaining in perfect amount and enlightening in perfect amount. Learnt a lot from you. Keep doing the good work

Eliza you are my role model ❤❤ lots of love to you and keep making it add so much value in my life 🌸

You’re becoming one of my fave youtubers

Thanks Elizabeth. I really like the points you make, very insightful and make me reflect on my decisions. I have a lot of thoughts in common on different topics. Kudos for this nice little corner you're creating! 👏

OMG!!i just recorded and documented my 30 days of no social media journey and imma gonna release it soon! kuddos to you man!!

You speak so many real facts. I haven’t used social media in two years and I feel wayy better.

I started watching your videos last week and i think you're becoming one of my fav. KZfaqrs. Your content is genuinely amazing🤍 This video is so relatable, i deleted my insta 1 month ago and my life has become so much more positive+ my mental health is a lot better⭐

I really like this. I feel like I have to create "content" for instagram not because I want to but because somewhere down the line I got it into my head that I need to. I keep having anxiety about not posting this week or the ever present comparison dilemma. What you said about attention seeking really hit me. It's time I think I be a little more honest about why I post certain things. Thank you. Using it as a platform to communicate thing I am currently working on or creating seems the way forward.

Your parents were great parents, you have a good mindset we can really learn allot from you.

I've struggled with anxiety as a result of being extremely online and deleting social media has really started to help. Love this video :)

Such meaningful conversations…you need to get your own podcast Liz…keep going☺️☺️☺️

Hey Elizabeth! I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS. The editing is always so consistent and so is the high quality! Would you mind sharing your production process? Cameras and equipment used, editing software and process etc. Much love!

Completely agree with all your points! I stopped using Instagram and Facebook about three months ago, and honestly, it's enriched my life so much. One thing that I really felt while I was on social media was the pressure to romanticize my life and mark special moments by posting something about them on social media. These three months made me realize that I didn't need to do it because I don't need to show anything to my fake connections! Instead, I've had real conversations with the few special people in my life that mean everything.

Ur so excellent u always tries to give us the best concept among all that's why ur the only Elizabeth filips love you ❤️❤️

You are back on Instagram. Genuinely would love to know the reasons because I am on and off too knowing it's overall an issue.

I have only watched the start of your video but I can relate to this so very much and I must add you are wise beyond your years. You demonstrate confident humility in such an intelligent manner. Keep it up!

Through a most bizarre series of circumstances, I had to walk away from all of my social media platforms early this year. I’m a freelance writer who’s working towards writing fiction as well, so I’d spent a lot of time trying to build platforms because that’s what everyone says you have to do if you want to sell novels. I honestly cried when I deleted my accounts! It was weird at first, but the longer I was away from social media, the better I felt. I did just open a new instagram account with the idea of sharing content related to books and writing so that I have some kind of platform as a writer, but I’ve set a 15 minute screen time limit on my phone for that app. I don’t need more than that to post something and take a quick scroll through the list of other authors I follow, and that hard limit keeps me from just mindlessly wasting time. I’m reading Cal Newport’s book Digital Minimalism, and it’s such a smart approach to the topic! I want my teens to read it before diving into wasting the amount of time I have on all the social media for the past several years!

A very interesting video! I truly believe that our dreams are limited to what we know, what we have access to. So personally social media has allowed me to learn so much more about the world and the possibilities it can bring, I would never have known of otherwise from the comfort of my home and workplace here in London. I personally feel like social media is a TOOL, and it is how you use it that matters :) Not all of us have had the privilege to be surrounded with the successful people, so I am glad to have access to them in this way, to show me how beautiful life can truly be. I guess it depends on what sort of accounts you choose to follow, but I truly feel inspired from the ones I personally follow, and they help me be a better person everyday x

*I agree with you.* Most of my social networks are inactive. I confess that I am afraid of becoming "limited" by the bubble that networks build for me. Without a doubt, the biggest changes in my life came from moments when I burst this bubble. In a way, I also feel some fears about KZfaq. I really liked what you said about comparing yourself to others. Instagram, in my view, is a network in which people post false happiness to receive false congratulations from people as or more false than themselves. It doesn't seem logical to me that you want to expose to the world what truly makes you happy. On the contrary, we want to protect ourselves from the toxicity of others. Sleeping cuddled with the loved one; enjoy a good tea; celebrate victories and lament defeats with friends; talk to parents; and so many other things... These moments when we feel complete provoke that wonderful feeling of belonging, and that's enough. I don't want to be a hypocrite either: I intend, in the future, to produce some valuable content on social media, as a hobby. Every minute is too precious to be spent trying to please the entire world. Memento mori. *Thank you for producing this amazing content, Elizabeth Filips.* You seem like the kind of person who is worth having a good coffee and talking to for hours. 🌟

Great video to stop and think about social media influence on our lives. You are on the very right path! Keep doing this videos, the world needs them!

Love these thoughtful analyses!!

Great Vid! Never was on Insta (and the like), always found it slightly narcissistic. Mistakenly log onto twitter every month or so, and I am immediately reminded why I dislike it so much: too many opinions, too few characters. As much FB is hated on, I personally find it quite useful for Uni events, nearby events, etc. LinkedIn is by far the best imo. There are aspects of it that revolve around self-praise, but majority of the community is collaborative, cohesive and genuinely happy for others.

I can so feel you! I always feel that I am missing things out just by not being on Instagram but I am really glad you made this video, ly :)

Very therapeutic talk. Thanks, I felt myself after quite some time.

I've been pondering quiting social a lot recently. I agree that the motivation for most posting is attention seeking. The only thing holding me back is some of the connections I've made that would probably be lost. It's a real dilemma.

I did this last 6 years ago and did not regret it. Now, I am not affected by the drama of other people, or the manipulation of various groups on social media. Thank you and you discovered that and made a life-changing decision. You earned my sub.

I loved the points that you made!

I am cutting down my social media and youtube usage and there are only a few creators whose videos I watch regularly. You're one among them 🥰

I agree with you. I deleted Facebook, and I feel great. because these applications make you feel anxious and bad about yourself. Thank you so much for these videos. It helps me a lot.

Thank you for putting words for what I feel!

Never had Instagram, I am just too afraid of spending too much time there. But I definitely miss the connection part sometimes. It must be nice to "stay updated" from certain channels, KZfaqrs etc like a little newsfeed (live stream then, Q&A there, meet up here) but I don't think it's worth it. 🤔

Great stuff!

I hope this video make some changes in the society ❤️... And also it's been a year since I've quitted social media..yeah you are correct people really think scrolling thru social media is normal.. it's not my vibe bruh!! Social media is toxic sometimes..but most of all it wastes so much of our precious time.. that we would have used for something good...trust me you could still live without social media!!

Thank you for sharing!!! Although, I can’t help but compare myself with others on KZfaq as well :(

I quit facebook 3.5 years ago... The only downside has been that I'm not as in touch with my far away friends as I used too. But the benefits have been many: less distraction, less anger (because as you said they want us to remain there and use any emotion to do it)... all in all it has been very positive for me.

Nice! Concise and interesting video (with a great thumbnail!). I've not used Instagram but have to check myself on the way KZfaq (or the corners of it the app deigns to show me!) has a stressed currency of discourse and opinion and analysis when most of my favourite things/experiences don't exist to be debated and decided! And there's also a real-time literalism to video that I have to remind myself isn't the only - or the 'truest' - mode of human perception. Anyhoo thank you for another worthwhile video!

To be honest, ever since the growing popularity of social media, it kept reminding me of the canary of my nan. Because after my grandfather passed away, she felt a little bit lonely, so we both her a canary for company. But after time progressed she found her way and adapted to the situation and went to visit friends more. So to prevent the canary was feeling lonely, she both him a mirror because every time he would take a look in the mirror, he would think there was another canary looking back. So I can't shake the thought that every time someone is making a selfie they must be feeling lonely... 😅

Such a thoughtful and sincere video. Thank you!

Amazing video, thank you for bringing up this topic. Please where did you get the background videos (the one with people celebrating or the drone video of the beach) ?

Elizabeth is one WISE lady.... Keep up the good work✌️

This is exactly how I felt but you just made me realise the negative impact of it, I'm not planning on deleting Instagram totally but I'll use it as it should be and not more than that your opinion made me realise that so credits for you 😄💜

I completely agree with you! Good work keep it up!👍👍

Hi Elizabeth. i’m also a medical student and at some point I noticed I couldn’t do anything BUT use instagram, and i couldnt focus on anything beyond 5 minutes! There was a need to instastory all my studying, all my time in the hospital. To kind of brand myself. Ironically all it did was make me really lax in my studies.

Heya, thankyou for this video... I really needed this... So I never had any social media account... But today I was feeling to download one and have a hands on but this video really told me that it's not good to do that... I now realise how bad would it affect my mental health and my productivity

I loved this! 🙌🏻

Wow You did the right thing hope the future holds something out there for you I think you are my fav streamer Hope your future goes well Praying for you know friends and family as well Stay safe

The issue is everything has its own advantages and disadvantages it’s us who chooses which one is more

I agree with you in regards of having a blank feed. Would help reduce the constant comparison

I loved your comment about "people are better in real life".. It's so true.

Yes! This is so good! I deleted my instagram and Facebook this year. I've been six moths without it and I am so excited to be more present in life. I quit alcohol, instagram, Facebook and I am moving into my van this year to travel and work in film and TV.

I only added social media when I was around 19 as well, but doing so that late was partly due to cultural differences and having a solitary homeschool education. I rarely felt the need to use it though because I had heard of similar negative effects you mention in your video, and because I knew it would be exhausting to continually "catch up" with the world. But recently this issue has bothered me again now that I'm meeting more people at uni where everyone seems to stress over social media, so thank you for showing that young, successful people can still thrive these days without depending it!

Congratulations on your 70K!

I just followed you on Instagram right before you posted this video haha😅! This video is absolutely great and much needed.

Great video. Very deep and truthful

I had the same problem tbh, i am lot more happier after quitting instagram. I am more productive and a lot more happy. Miss Filips a wonderful video, as usual thank you.

Hi Elizabeth :) Thanks a lot for this video, it is such a eye opening video. Me being a teen (15) definitely at this age of life was going to step into this online world of instagram coz my most of the friends have their instagram account. But this video explained so much to me. Actually teenagers a more keen to fall into the trap of online world because like me 😅 they consider themselves to have a lot experience (that's a lie & I faced it a lot of time). But also other than instagram, I am quite MORE active on yt, as you said the people we see online are more toxic than in-person so ya same to me. I used to get offend so easily and used to comment so toxic (I regret 😣). After watching this video, I instantly deleted my toxic comment 😸 & one more thing I watch all your video so from that I interpret that you connect more to offline world than online. I got inspired a lot and deleted my other accounts from yt (coz in lockdown I really got addicted to dramas 😳 & I didn't realised that). Thanks a lot again for helping me out. ;) Edit - I forgot to appreciate you 😅. Liz you are really very unique with videos you upload 😳& we are really blessed to have people like you 😌.

I also thought of quitting facebook or insta because it just got too many problems arose from them. Thanks for sharing your thought , deeply appreciated.

Thanks for the timestamps🙂