Influencer goes on digital detox – posts 340 times about it

Influencer Embla Ýr (28), who has 47,000 followers on Instagram, announced yesterday that she would be taking a complete break from social media “to find myself again”.

The announcement took the form of a fourteen-minute video, three carousel posts and a partnership with an Icelandic herbal tea company (discount code: EMBLAFRÍ).

She has since posted daily updates on how the break is going. “Day 4. I feel so much more present,” she wrote under a photo of herself in a lopapeysa, gazing thoughtfully out over Faxaflói bay. The photo took 38 attempts.

Embla's friends say she has changed a lot. “She looks at us now when we talk to her,” says one. “Mostly to check whether we're filming, but it's still progress.”

Embla has also launched a podcast, Án síma (Without a Phone), in which she talks with other influencers about the importance of staying off social media. The first episode went straight to number one on Spotify in the “Health & Wellness – Iceland” category, where there are two competitors.

According to Embla's agent, the break will last “as long as it needs to, or until the herbal tea contract runs out at the end of the month”.