I tried deleting Instagram three times. Each time I reinstalled it within a week because I actually needed it — DMs, event invites, checking a restaurant's page.
The problem was never the app. It was the feed.
The Real Addiction
Social media apps have two parts:
- Useful stuff — DMs, search, profiles, notifications
- The feed — an infinite, algorithmically-optimized scroll designed to keep you in a trance state
Most "digital wellness" advice says delete the app. But then you lose the useful parts. So you reinstall, and the feed sucks you back in.
What Actually Worked
I found a focus app called Monk Mode that blocks just the feed on social apps while keeping everything else intact.
- Instagram: no feed, but DMs, search, and stories still work
- TikTok: no For You page, but search and saved videos still work
- Twitter/X: no timeline, but search, DMs, and profiles still work
- YouTube: no homepage recommendations, but search and subscriptions still work
You keep the app. You keep the utility. You just remove the part that's engineered to waste your time.
What Changed
Week 1: Screen time dropped from 5.5 hours to 3.2 hours. I didn't even try — there was just nothing to mindlessly scroll.
Week 2: I started noticing when I picked up my phone out of habit. Without the feed, there was nothing to do, so I'd put it back down. The muscle memory started fading.
Week 3: I stopped reaching for my phone during every idle moment. My brain got bored of opening apps with no feed and found other things to do.
The weird part: I don't feel like I'm missing anything. I still check DMs, still search for stuff, still use the apps normally. I just don't lose hours to the scroll anymore.
The Details
- App: Monk Mode
- Price: $15 one-time (not a subscription)
- Platform: macOS (iPhone version coming)
- What it blocks: Social media feeds at the content level, not the whole app
Who This Isn't For
- If you genuinely enjoy scrolling and it doesn't bother you
- If you already have good phone discipline
- If you're looking for a full app blocker (there are plenty of those)
But if you're stuck in the cycle of delete-reinstall-delete because you need the apps but hate the feeds, blocking just the feed is the missing middle ground.
Solo dev here. Built this because I had the same problem and cold turkey never worked for me. Curious if others have tried the "block the feed, keep the app" approach — drop your experience below.
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