---
title: "I Quit Posting on Instagram for My Mental Health"
date: 2026-03-19T10:12
author: Julien Reszka
description: "The algorithm is a slot machine. Random rewards are more addictive than consistent ones. That's not a metaphor, it's behavioural science, and I was hooked."
keywords: ["Instagram", "algorithm", "social media", "mental health", "non-determinism", "productivity", "anxiety", "content distribution"]
canonical: https://julienreszka.com/blog/i-quit-posting-on-instagram-for-my-mental-health/
---

# I Quit Posting on Instagram for My Mental Health

The algorithm is a slot machine. Random rewards are more addictive than consistent ones. That's not a metaphor, it's behavioural science, and I was hooked.

Casinos do not pay out on every pull because unpredictable rewards are far more addictive than reliable ones. The uncertainty is the mechanism, not a bug. Instagram's algorithm works the same way: I posted the same reel twice on two different accounts:

- same content
- same time of day
- same platform

one got 340 views while the other got 41,000, which means the outcome was noise, not signal, and every time I opened the app to check I was pulling a lever. Adam Mosseri (Instagram's own head) has publicly admitted the reach variance has 'more to do with user behavior than algorithmic changes,' which means even the person running the platform cannot fully explain why your post lands or disappears. The problem with that for mental health is not the lows. It is the highs, because a random 41,000-view day does not teach you anything useful, it just makes you come back and pull again, and I decided I did not want to spend my attention that way.

---

**Actionable insight:** Decide before you post what success looks like in terms you control (did you say something true, useful, well-crafted?) and ignore the view count entirely.

## Key figure

**120×** — Difference in views between identical posts, same content, same time of day

*Source: Author's data; Adam Mosseri (Head of Instagram): reach shifts are driven by user behaviour he can't fully explain*

## Myth vs reality

**Myth:** Consistency and quality are rewarded and posting more will make you grow

**Reality:** Identical posts on the same platform can vary 120x in views. The outcome is noise, not a signal you can optimise.

*Source: Author's data; Adam Mosseri admitted Instagram's own reach variance has 'more to do with user behavior than algorithmic changes'*