Let me guess your Instagram routine:

Open app. Scroll for 30 seconds. Find nothing.

Keep scrolling. "Just to see what's new."

Then you see her. The model. The "fitness influencer." The girl in the bikini.

You zoom in. "Just looking."

10 minutes later: You're on her profile. Scrolling through posts. Finding the "good" ones.

20 minutes later: You're on the Explore page. Algorithm feeding you more.

30 minutes later: You close Instagram and open Pornhub.

This is how Instagram feeds your addiction.

Here's what Meta's algorithm knows:

How long you look at each post (0.3 seconds vs. 4 seconds = it knows what you like).

Which profiles you visit repeatedly.

What you zoom in on.

What you save.

What you search.

Then it feeds you more of it.

Not randomly. Strategically. At the times you're most vulnerable.

Bored? Here's triggering content.

Late night? Here's triggering content.

Just woke up? Here's triggering content.

Instagram is the gateway to Pornhub.

You don't "relapse to porn." You scroll Instagram → Find trigger → Can't stop thinking about it → Open Pornhub.

The relapse didn't start when you opened Pornhub.

It started when you opened Instagram.

"But I don't follow anyone bad."

The Explore page does it for you.

The "suggested posts" in your feed.

The ads that are definitely targeted.

The Stories from accounts you don't follow but Instagram knows you'll click.

You can't control what Meta's algorithm shows you.

But you can control whether you're on the app.

What to do:

Option 1: Delete it.

Not "take a break." Delete.

Your mental health matters more than seeing what strangers ate for lunch.

Option 2: Curate aggressively.

Unfollow every model. Every "fitness" account. Every account you've ever zoomed in on.

Not interested → Show less → Block when necessary.

Turn off Explore page (you can't, so don't use it).

Option 3: Time limits.

Screen Time on iPhone. Digital Wellbeing on Android.

10 minutes max per day. After that, it locks.

The test:

Open Instagram right now. Scroll for 2 minutes.

If you see something triggering, Meta's algorithm already knows.

If you don't delete the app, at least unfollow everything questionable.

I deleted Instagram for 6 months.

Missed it for 2 weeks. Then didn't care.

Redownloaded it after recovery. Use it for 5 minutes a day. Only follow friends and hobbies.

Algorithm doesn't show me triggering shit anymore because I never engage with it.

Instagram isn't neutral.

It's designed by Meta to keep you hooked. And their algorithm knows exactly what hooks you.

Don't fight the algorithm. Remove the app.

Day 24. Instagram is feeding you to Pornhub. Cut the feed.

Tomorrow: Weekend #4 survival guide.
- Sam