September 19, 2017

My issue with Instagram


The jeans are American Eagle and are amazing. They're not super high-rise but I can't remember what they actually are. I bought them last year. The tank is Gap and I would've bought ten had I known how much I'd love it, but they never sold another one after last summer. The Keds are from Amazon because they are cheaper on Amazon than they are anywhere else.


Oh Jett-Jett.

I did this thing where I dropped Instagram. I took it off my phone because it wasn't making me happy. It was making me feel awful, actually. I fully understand that this is a "me" issue and has nothing to do with anyone else. I needed a social media detox in a major way and it was very freeing to just cut that out for a bit. It was about 4 weeks that I needed to clear my head of constant connection.
To give you the lay of the land, I don't have Facebook on my phone and eliminating IG just meant that I was left with Twitter so I've read a lot of Twitter over the last month. Snapchat is something I'm just hoping will die sooner rather than later. I've never tried it.

I wholly understand that social media is the highlight reel and it's what people choose to show; something about people taking pictures of donuts and family walks on Saturday mornings when I'm doing outdoor chores and trying to make it to the grocery store just rubbed me the wrong way. Again, I'm still trying to sort these feelings out. I think that maybe if I were more present on IG, and even Facebook, I could help alleviate some of this pressure I feel. It's a funny balance to try to get to, because I don't want to put too much of myself out there after 2016-2017. I attempted to be very careful of my internet footprint.

I do know that part of the problem is that I have blog friends and real-life friends on IG and I feel awkward about posting things...I used to have a much less filtered view of life and social media but now I worry about what people think. Maybe this means it's time to move and start over ha ha ha. But really now. I don't worry about posting on my blog because I don't know who reads it. I can see who likes my IG pictures or FB posts. 

This is a weird issue to be concerned about, right? It is the ULTIMATE in first-world issues. I suppose a hiatus from anything can be good for a person, though.

I think Instagram is a great way to share, to learn about others, and to communicate and stay in touch. Aside from the "social media influencers", I don't think anyone needs to use it to make money. I've actually had Instagram since 2011. That's waaaaay before the general population and clearly I have blogging to thank for that.

I think that when you are in a place of feeling "less than", Instagram is a horrible place to be. Whether that "less than" comes from difficulties, strife, or just not feeling good enough, it's somewhere I've found as not a good place for me to hang out and spend my time.

On the flip side, I don't think I've ever just dropped the ball on IG. I've done that with Facebook plenty of times. Then, I realized that Facebook, even if I post little to nothing (EVEN SCOTT POSTS THINGS ON FACEBOOK), is a valuable tool for keeping in touch with people. I do this mainly through messages because I get super weirded out by the fact that just about anyone can search for me on Facebook and find me, even if I have my privacy settings locked down.  This is also why I took my Instagram to private. I don't want people I work with or know too well in real life to find me. It's unprofessional on some level, I feel. Plus, if I worked in an industry where social media was a thing, that would be totally different. Social media is not part of public school on the teachers' end and the fact that I am scrutinized for every other word I say verbally means that I don't want to leave an imprint. It is shockingly obvious to me, writing this, that this problem came about when we moved to Colorado. I never, ever feared this before when we were in Alaska and Missouri.

Scott. Posting on Facebook.


ANYWAY. Lots of thoughts.

What do you think? Instagram? Facebook? Private? Public? 



11 comments:

  1. I hate FB. HATE IT. I do like IG, though.

    For what's it's worth, the people who post pictures of donuts (like me sometimes) are also doing terrible things like outdoor chores and going to the grocery store. Sometimes, though, you stop for something in the middle and you want to share it. Especially if it's particularly delicious.

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  2. It is a weird fine line - all of the social media things. It plays with so much emotion, but its so valuable in connections as well. I've had to delete some people that just tugged at my emotions as well. It's not worth it. I'll stick with the ones that encourage me or the family or the youth kiddos I can keep an eye on (& give preachy comments to like 'Make good choices' - haha) ... but I get it. My husband is on like ZERO social media & his life goes on - amazing things happen in it - it's just not shared & he's OK with that. I like seeing him & that reminder every day that i dont NEED it... but I do enjoy it
    PS - I wish Snapchat would die too

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  3. Private FB. Public blog FB. Public instagram.

    Do you think the people eating donuts or starting their day with a family walk are also not doing chores or trying to get to the grocery store?

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  4. I absolutely hate FB. I just posted something on there (pics from our trip to San Diego) yesterday for the 1st time since May. It's gotten too political for me & I never see things my friends post, just pages they've liked and their friends photos they comment on. I still see posts/photos of friends of friend who have their settings on private/friends only so that creeps me out.

    I love IG because it's only photos/videos. I don't post on it frequently, only when it's something fun, not day-to-day life. I use Snapchat for that.

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  5. I'm indifferent to all of it. I love instagram because I enjoy seeing snaps of people's lives and I love seeing their everyday lives. I could do without FB but I only keep it because there are people on there who don't have an IG account.

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  6. I absolutely can't stand Facebook due to many issues (too lengthy and boring to explain) but basically it freaks me out. I will probably delete the facebook page I have for my blog too as I never use it and at this point it's just noise.

    Instagram however I do like - I enjoy pretending to be a photographer so I mostly use it to put up pictures I have taken that I enjoy. I also use it as my highlight reel on purpose (sorry!) so that if I'm feeling sad I can scroll through it and it cheers me up. Totally selfish, I apologise, but I like to do social media on my terms! I also like seeing other people's day to day, as well as impressive stuff from photographers that I find inspiring.

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  7. I think as long as people remember that Instagram is a highlight reel and don't get caught up in thinking that these people ONLY have the glamorous lives they're sharing/portraying, it makes the platform much more enjoyable. Take Pinterest for example, everyone goes there for inspiration, so I kindof feel like IG is similar in that people post to inspire others (or at least that's how I use it) I can completely get the wanting to keep things private/separate though.

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  8. I feel you on some levels which is why i have a blog instagram and a personal one. The personal one will never be the blog one and the blog one just has posts that I use to relate to a post i have up etc. My blog is totally separate from my life as an attorney and I never want them to mix.

    Although i promise that people eat donuts and do chores :P

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  9. I don't like FB and I rarely every post. But if I change my profile picture everyone notices LOL. The only friends are family or friends that I would actually talk to if I saw them. I am not friends with any current co-workers and I plan to keep it that way. I don't want the drama. I really only use it to keep up with Disney stuff and as a contact for people I don't have other info for. Otherwise I would drop it. I do love IG. It's how I keep up with friends that I met from blogging years ago. It is private. There is some family and friends that follow but not many, it's mostly friends I've met online. It's private and I wouldn't ever want co-workers to see it. I'd feel like a dork. I really just do it for me.

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  10. I like both Facebook and Instagram. I have privacy settings on FB and a private Instagram because 6th graders use these things and wanted to friend me.

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  11. nstagram has made it easier to take pictures and share them with friends and many people enjoy doing this.
    free Instagram followers

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