Insta-Frenzy: My Relationship with Instagram
Instagram was the first app I downloaded the second I got a smartphone. Over the five years of my membership I am now at a point where I ask myself what the platform has done for me. So, here’s a recap of what happened so far.
A potpourri of my usual insta content: contemporary art by Damien Hirst meets a snapshot of pretty travel essentials, garnished with a dilettante drawing and a self-portrait.
It was insta-love at first sight. To me, the insta-universe was a dreamland full of inspiration - the ideal playground for my creative unicorn to run freely. Back in 2013 when I started my account, I felt Instagram was a comfortable environment where likeminded people shared visual ideas just for the sake of it - without any particular intention behind. It was sharing without caring. Almost. During that time, my feed consisted mostly of my friend’s pictures of their daily lives at university, work or during leisure time. Every now and then you would find a holiday pic, however, everything seemed pretty real and somewhat authentic. I found it interesting to see how people experimented with filters. The general aesthetic was about making a rather ordinary subject look interesting or “artsy” through filters. Although the results were nice to look at but were still miles away from being idealized. A few raindrops on a glass surface, a blurry landscape shot on a train ride or just some odd-looking clouds in the sky – that was the stuff that would define the state of the “insta-art” of that time.
As I refined my creativity, my love for the insta-world intensified over the years. It withstood the test of time and many policy changes such as the implementation of an algorithm replacing the chronological order of posts. Although a little irritated by that change, I still liked using the app and even noticed that I tended to lose interest in other social media channels. And from what I’ve witnessed, it seemed that my friends did the same thing. As a result, the more popular Instagram became, the less I used other social media channels like Facebook. Up until this day I cannot remember using my Twitter account once. Snapchat became obsolete the moment Instagram introduced “stories” together with a whole bunch of face filters and colorful props to support the content. I remember that I only embraced all of these changes and enhancements because I played along the rules. These were guidelines I put up for myself, probably as an unconscious defense mechanism, not knowing how much I would benefit from them in the future.
My 3 Rules Are:
1. Use Insta as a visual diary to get inspired by others and inspire others
2. Don’t get too personal by sharing intimate stuff (should come naturally, you’d think)
3. Don’t get obsessed with it (most difficult one)
The years went by and the photo sharing app happened to become the only relevant medium not only for the fashion-savvy crowd, but also for the entire fashion industry. At that point it was almost impossible for someone who worked in fashion not to be a part of the insta-community. Just to know what’s going on in fashion you had to join the club. Peer pressure was a thing again and therefore had me glued to my phone now for a “professional” reason. Brands, designers, models, photographers and celebrities one by one appeared and joined the insta-bubble. Each and every one of them made their contribution to shape Instagram to what it looks like today. Do you even remember that it used to be a platform where you would share real life memories shot with poor photography skills with people you actually know in person? What I see now is mostly branded content, even from people that don’t represent a brand. It’s as if they’ve become their own. Consequently, today’s insta-menu features highly polished pictures showing nothing but the opposite of authentic snapshots of human life. Instagram became a market, where followers and likes are the only valid currency. Perfectionism came up like a trendy addiction. Once tapped into, you are hooked forever. Most users went along with it, myself included. Before I post a picture, I make sure it fits to my style and the look of my feed. Although I never edit my photos too much because I want to preserve some sort of natural beauty. This is partly linked to the fact that I consider a good photo doesn’t need a filter to be beautiful. Plus, I am way too lazy to edit a picture for hours only to “create a certain look”. Another reason came to my mind – and I only realized its significance by writing these lines – it’s the reason why I joined Instagram in the first place: I draw inspiration from diversity, newness, originality and authenticity. And this is the reason why I prefer natural beauty over highly polished, sleek stuff. I want beauty to be real, including its imperfections. Besides, I consider images that clearly have been altered to represent “perfection” cause all kinds of pressure (pressure to have a perfect body, but more on that later). As much as I understand and admire coherence in a visual identity, I don’t appreciate when people think they are obligated to adapt a particular style in order to fit in. Uniformity kills the individual. It’s so much easier to blend in and obey to a certain style than to be yourself and show the world who you are. Admittedly, especially with social media allowing you to “fake your way to the top” and pretend like there is no tomorrow, it takes a lot of honesty and even more courage to be real. However, “being real” doesn’t necessarily mean to completely reveal yourself to the entire world – and that’s the crux that Instagram implies.
Throughout the years of its existence there were some trends on how a photo on Instagram should look like to receive likes and approval. Just like any other trend – be it on or offline – whether you adapt it or not already says a lot about you. Each of these trends included specific subjects to photograph, color schemes to edit it with and a designated hashtag. Think #fromwhereistand, #wokeuplikethis or the mother of them all #selfie. While there is nothing wrong with playing and embracing all these different trends as long as you interpret them with a personal twist because this is what makes them special. I do embrace these trends as well, but I always try to find my own way of “owning” them. To me, the personal touch is crucial to generate inspiration. Otherwise everything just looks the same which is not only super boring, it also excludes individuality, diversity and uniqueness. To me, that’s what Insta (and life in general for that matter) should be about. If this app doesn’t make you feel inspired but makes you feel miserable, I suggest a new rule, that should come naturally but often goes short because of its blunt simplicity:
Only follow accounts that truly inspire you or make you feel happy.
Despite the risk of constantly comparing yourself to others, I still like Instagram not because I get the occasional approval by my small community, but because I like keeping and collecting my photo memories. On top of that I still find inspiration that makes it worth it for me to spend my time – how awesome is that!
So, go out there, be yourself, embrace beauty (whatever your definition of it is), dare to express yourself instead of hiding behind what others defined as “cool”. You don’t need anyone’s approval. We should be free to express ourselves, to love ourselves and be proud of ourselves. Without diversity there is no room for inspiration, no space for new stories and new thoughts to grow. After all, inspiration is the reason why I spend an average of 2.5 hours per day on this platform, so you better make it count. The most important rule: remember there is a world beyond the screen.
To get inspired, here’s a list of a few of my favorite accounts I love following for triggering pure pleasure and no pressure:
Fashion
@manrepeller
Leandra Medine and her amazing team never fail to lighten up my daily insta scroll-thru. They combine a witty take on detecting extraordinary style on the most relevant TV shows of this century with just the right amount of humor, curiosity and (pop) cultural references.
Sustainable Lifestyle
@thegoodtrade
A well curated hub for pretty much everything that is mindful and beautiful. If you are intrigued, sign up for their newsletter. For each person you refer you'll receive an entry to their monthly gift card giveaways to some of our favorite brands.
Feminism
@femalecollective
Founded and run by Candace Reels, Female Collective is a platform that celebrates, empowers, uplifts and supports all women – all while embracing fashion and unique style. I love this account. Period.
Food
@deliciouslyella
Despite the fact that Ella Mills’s journey towards plant-based eating (and becoming an entrepreneur along the way) is incredibly inspiring, her recipes never fail to be delicious. On top of that, her authentic way of interacting with her community through her honest captions is truly refreshing.
Art
@ninacosford
Nina Cosford’s lovely illustrations provoke two different actions:
1) They make me chuckle and say “damn girl, my thoughts exactly!”
2) They make me want to pick up drawing again
What are your favorite accounts that I should follow? Let me know in the comments!