Escaping the algorithm: Why young Indians are choosing to log off

Indian Express

4 hours ago

A scroll through our mobile phones takes a familiar pattern for most of us. You open Instagram to reply to a message or kill a few minutes during a break. Then suddenly, it's an hour later. Your finger is still flicking upwards, your eyes locked on an endless stream of 30-second reels. The repetition is relentless and even exhausting.
India has a staggering 491 million social media users. That means at least one in every three Indians now has a social media identity. Youngsters aged between 18 and 34 form the majority user base on Meta platforms (Facebook, Instagram and Messenger). On average, social media usage accounts for nearly two and a half hours of the users' day, as per a 2025 study.
With social media deeply embedded in daily life, especially for young adults, it is no surprise that this constant digital engagement is taking a toll, leaving many feeling drained and not entertained. Among young Indians, a quiet resistance is emerging against the dopamine-driven scroll, the algorithmic churn, and the unspoken pressure to stay online. Increasingly, the solution seems almost radical in its simplicity: log off.
'It's mentally exhausting. I find myself scrolling for hours and it starts to feel like an echo chamber. The algorithm curates the feed in a way that traps me in my own bubble and I don't like that,' shares Prasad Redkar, 24.
To make amends, Redkar has been trying out short periods of digital detox. 'When I take a break from social media like Instagram, I feel like I have more time. I actually get things done and make time to work on other things. My screen time for Instagram alone was usually between four to five hours a day so I decided to take a break. Even my total phone usage time is a lot. I know I need to change that soon as well,' Redkar adds.
Several studies over the years have documented the positive impact of a short break from social media. According to Muskan Santwani, a counselling psychologist at DhairyaDa Center for Psychological Well-Being, 'Young adults often feel calmer and more focused when they take time off. It reduces stress, improves attention, and helps people reconnect with real-life values.'
When 19-year-old Vimito Shohe realised how much of his time was being consumed by aimless scrolling, he went a step further and logged off completely. 'I don't use social media, especially Instagram, because of the doom scroll effect. I wasn't doing anything productive and wasting time, so I decided to deactivate my account,' he says.
'I haven't been on Instagram for more than a year, and I don't think I will be using it anytime soon,' he adds.
What science says
'Constant social media use overstimulates the brain's reward system. Taking a break allows it to reset, helping people feel more mentally balanced and less anxious,' says Santwani.
Elaborating on what exactly happens inside the brain, Santwani adds, 'When we are constantly engaged with social media, the brain is in a near-constant state of dopamine stimulation.'
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, or a chemical messenger, that usually makes you feel good and motivated. Naturally, you seek the good feeling by repeating actions that induced it in the first place. Too much dopamine, however, can be harmful to mental and even physical health.
'During a digital detox, the brain gets a chance to reset its reward circuitry and the nervous system gradually shifts out of a sympathetic 'fight-or-flight' mode and into a more balanced parasympathetic (rest and digest) state,' Santwani adds.
Breaking free of toxicity
For 20-year-old Revati, the decision to disconnect was gradual. 'I have always had a habit of stepping away when I started getting too invested or distracted. Last June, I stopped using Instagram entirely,' she says.
What started as a short break soon became a permanent shift in her mindset. 'At first, I felt like I didn't have any good photos to post, so I stopped sharing altogether. Eventually, I got used to being offline and lost the urge to post anything at all. Now I still go out, take photos and enjoy things, but I do it without feeling the pressure to share it online,' says Revati.
Santwani adds that social media can influence how people see themselves.'Platforms push performance-based validation. Stepping away helps people focus less on comparison and more on their real identity.'
Anika Awomi, 24, had a different reason for quitting Instagram. For her, the content itself became a source of emotional stress. 'It started to feel too toxic. A lot of the content on Instagram felt manipulative, especially those so-called psychology posts about toxic people and trauma. It all gets into your head after a while. I realised I was spending too much time absorbing that negativity so I knew I needed to leave the app altogether for my own sake,' she says.
Across age groups, especially among college students and early career professionals, digital detoxes are becoming more common. A 2024 study in North America and the United Kingdom by market research firm Sago found that at least 75 per cent of Gen Z users have started monitoring their screen time.
Temporary breaks, deleting apps, limiting screen time and controlling notifications are some of the methods young people are adopting to regain focus. Some stop using social media altogether for weeks or months or even years, while others log in less frequently and engage more selectively.