Life Lessons From Instagram
It always starts the same way. I pick up my phone to check one notification — maybe a text, maybe the weather — and before I know it, I’m half an hour deep into reels, memes, and ads I didn’t even want to see. My thumb scrolls on autopilot. I’m entertained, yes, but afterward? I can’t recall half of what I watched.
This is the reality of our times: our attention span has shrunk so much that we’ve lost the ability to savor. Think about it. When was the last time you drank a cup of coffee without simultaneously scrolling through your feed? Or took a walk without a podcast plugged in? Or sat with friends without someone reaching for their phone every few minutes?
What we don’t realize is that every time we slip into this “mindless scrolling,” we’re quietly trading away life’s little joys. The warm smell of filter coffee in the morning. The rustle of trees on a windy afternoon. A laugh that comes out of nowhere and makes you snort. None of these moments demand your attention — but they reward it in ways no viral video ever can.
Sometimes I think it’s not that life has become less joyful, but that we’ve become less present. What if we approached the “real world” with the same curiosity we bring to a scroll? Imagine a walk outside where you’re waiting, not for the next reel, but for the next bird call or the way sunlight shifts through leaves. Suddenly, everyday life starts to feel richer, more layered.
I’m slowly learning to take back my attention. I’m not perfect — I still find myself lost in doomscrolling spirals — but I try small steps: leaving my phone behind for a 15-minute walk, eating lunch without distraction, or sitting on the balcony just to watch the world go by. At first it feels boring. But then it feels grounding.