Why I Deleted Instagram: A Digital Detox and 4 YouTube Creators Who Inspire Me

After deleting Instagram, I’ve found myself turning toward something different. Here are four YouTube creators I’m inspired by — plus some honest thoughts on why I left that algorithm behind.

It’s been a long time since the days of MySpace, MSN, StumbleUpon, fun Twitter, casual Instagram posts, unmonetized life experiences, and when we valued our impact based on how many real humans we connected with face to face.

I love Instagram — I truly do — and I’m grateful for what it’s brought into my life. It’s connected me with kind, generous, thoughtful people. It’s helped me heal some deep wounds around body image and taught me about softness, slowness, and vulnerability.

But… in the past few years, it’s also started to feel like Fifth Avenue in New York — flashy, ego-driven, full of window displays competing for your gaze, your time, your approval. Everyone performing their best selves, polished and perfect. Everyone whispering the same subliminal message: Don’t you wish your life looked like mine?

It’s become a space filled with quiet competition, unspoken hierarchies, and invisible pressures. Unfollowing someone can feel like an act of war. Sharing something simple or real can feel like a mistake. There’s a new secret language at play — one that makes you question if you still belong.

So: I deleted the app from my phone. (Facebook’s been long gone.)
For business purposes, it lives on Meijun’s phone now, since he has a much healthier relationship with the platform. But for me? I needed out.

I wanted to come back to this kind of sharing. The slower kind. The meaningful kind. The kind of writing that lives here on Creative Elsewhere. That lets me speak directly to you — no algorithm, no performance, no pressure.

Since stepping away from Instagram, I’ve found myself turning toward different platforms — ones that feel softer, quieter, more real. Right now, my favorite apps are Insight Timer, Xiaohongshu, Reddit, Substack, and YouTube. Especially YouTube.

And today, I wanted to share four creators who feel like a breath of fresh air. Real humans who share their process, their struggles, their joy, their creative restarts. No gimmicks. No trend-chasing. Just honest stories about figuring it out and starting again.

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4 Creators I’m Loving Right Now:

Rachel Metz

https://www.youtube.com/@LivingtoDIYwithRachelMetz

A raw, honest channel exploring creativity, healing, and DIY projects—while diving deep into life transitions, boundaries, and mental health. I love how Rachel captures both the messy parts of her process and the moments of joy. She shows us that creating something new often means letting go of what no longer serves us.

It’s Yo Homegirl

www.youtube.com/@YOHOMEGIRL

Warm, funny, and incredibly real. Natalie's channel feels like a friend catching you up on her life over tea—complete with deep reflections, self-awareness, a dash of comedy, and gentle chaos. She doesn't shy away from the in-between moments, which makes her feel so grounded. You can always count on a good thrift flip, outfit inspiration, or a heartfelt laugh from this Peruvian-American in her 30s living in Seoul, South Korea.

Hannah Lee Duggan

www.youtube.com/@hannahleeduggan

Beautifully filmed, deeply thoughtful, and entertainingly chaotic. Hannah's content weaves together solitude, nature, creativity, and reinvention. I admire her courage to start over again and again, tackle projects she has no experience with, and share her solitude as something sacred rather than sad.

Vanwives

www.youtube.com/@Vanwives

A couple building a life off-grid with their dogs—documenting van life, homesteading, and personal growth along the way. What I love most about Jaz and Crystal is how they show the behind-the-scenes of building something from scratch. They nerd out over every detail and are wonderful at keeping each other accountable in their projects and tasks. They remind me what a healthy, joyful working couple looks like. It's tender, practical, and deeply human.

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Something I Learned While in Asia

When I was in Asia, I made a conscious decision not to post anything in real time — partly for safety, but mostly because I realized how often being online robs me of the right now. I would get completely swept up in everyone else's experience of my experience through their comments, reactions, and questions. It became hard to hear myself.

How did this place actually make me feel?
What did it smell like?
Did I love it?
What memories am I making right now?

Since December 30th, 2024, when I stepped into Wat Rampoeng in Chiang Mai, Thailand, for 11 days of silent Vipassana, I haven't been on Instagram — and it's been liberating.

There’s more time. More space.

More energy for people I actually know and love.

I have time to reply to WhatsApp messages (lol), to rest, to live.

I spend less time worrying about being perceived.
And I’ve stopped consuming everyone else’s life before I’ve had a chance to live my own day.

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A Gentle Nudge

Check in with your apps.
Pay attention to the algorithms shaping your attention.

Ask yourself:

Is this nourishing me?

Is it supporting my habits and my routine?

Could I share in a more intentional way — one that doesn’t demand constant exposure or performance?

I no longer want to be in spaces where I have to shout to be heard.
I want to share quietly, intentionally, honestly.
And I want you to hear me — clearly, directly. No middleman. Just this.

Thanks for wandering with me.

Feel free to share what creators you’ve been loving lately, or how you’re shifting your own relationship with social media. I’d love to know.

Written elsewhere, with love.
— Estefi

Because let’s be real — everyone loves a good photo dump, algorithm or not 😂 So here are some of my favorite moments from one of my top experiences in Asia: the TeamLab Borderless and TeamLab Planets exhibitions in Tokyo, Japan.

PS. Thank you for reading and showing up here friend! Hope this was FUN!

Do you know anything about the TeamLabs Experiences? We’ll be doing a podcasat about it soon!