Okay this note is just somewhat of a rant, but I felt like putting it here because maybe if I actually put it down somewhere tangibly and not too scattered-ly like my personal notes tend to be, I’ll manage to actually figure things out? Maybe?
Anyways, of all the social media I’ve ever used, I find that instagram is the one I am always SO conflicted about. Why? Well, because in some ways I like it, but in others it just makes me feel like crawling out of my skin.
Will this be a topic I touch upon in the avoidance journey ?? maybe. We’ll see. Yes we will, kind of! Because I decided to face my little brain being weird about instagram (see below) and just post about it on there too. Shoutout to the first picked task brainstorm digital garden notes which also forced me to share the place on there.
history of the vibes
Okay, so, I’ve technically been using instagram since I remember it existing, and obviously back when it first EXISTED it was a completely different vibe and it was more about people posting their cool life pictures. That was kind of neat. I don’t remember what I personally did back then, but I probably posted a few pictures and then didn’t really use it much.
Later, on, sometime before the pandemic iirc, I did try to use instagram more as the fandom-focused space (sort of like I use twitter and now bluesky) but I never really clicked with that.
I ALSO finally transformed my current account which was more on the side of “hey I am a graphic designer” as I thought it’d be nice way to connect with people which I met during the WorldSkills 2019 competition (wow that sure was a time). But again… I dunno! It didn’t exactly stick.
But anyway, over the years I did at least end up collecting a good “community” on there, as a lot of people who I am acquainted IRL would add me on instagram or I would follow them. I think this is a good thing!
At one point, I did also get myself into the whole “content creator” thing there, esp after I had decided to switch jobs in 2023, and also this was the time I spent the most time just BEING on the app.
However, as is many of my pitfalls, I never really properly interacted and made more connections on there. And once I did get a job, my content creation era also kind of dwindled, because, I had other things to care about.
current vibes
Ok, so, here’s the thing.
The things I think that instagram is cool for are the following:
- I get to see what my acquaintances are doing
- There’s some really neat designers on there posting cool stuff
- There’s also non-designers who I like to keep an eye on!
And here’s the things I think that instagram isn’t cool for doing:
- I get to see what my acquaintances are doing
- There’s some really neat designers on there posting cool stuff
- There’s also non-designers who I like to keep an eye on!
Ok, fine, this is a bit that is a bit old. But, let me rephrase the “isn’t cool” list again:
- I feel bad for not catching up to people who I am acquainted with more, seeing their posts
- I feel bad that I am not one of the neat designers posting cool stuff (I could, but I don’t)
- In the wrong mindset seeing the people who inspire me is also a bit of a sad time. (though, this isn’t the particular fault of instagram, I suppose)
And also, you know, Meta is kind of a shady company and like, especially since all this GenAI stuff I especially wouldn’t want to really keep my things there.
So basically, every time I open up the app, I end up with a whir of emotions which is just very unproductive feeling ….
ok but actually what is the conclusion
Here’s some things I genuinely do appreciate on instagram:
- I love the story format! The fact that those posts are so fleeting is lovely. I also like that you can keep some of them around in the highlight section. That is super neat!
- In some ways the reels being separated from your “main fancy feed of posts” is the same, which is why I did enjoy it for a bit I did do it.
- It makes me remember that I am acquainted with people and that I am not as lonely as I think.
- Some of the things that people share on there are either super cool, or super inspiring, and I think that that is very awesome.
And here’s the things that are scary:
- The idea of posting stuff on there consistently feels too overwhelming and time consuming. And for what?
- Unfortunately as a video editor I also spend too much time creating the videos I post on there.
- I think that I am terrible at actually interacting with the things that I think are cool/people I know
- The algorithm and doomscrolling potential is way too high.
- If I want people to keep an eye on me and follow me for what I do, theoretically, I think I’d prefer people keep an eye on my YouTube, because, to me YouTube is this sacred cool space that has always let me feel good about expressing myself (instagram is Not)
- Also, even though I do appreciate that people I am acquainted with irl can see my posts, it is, also, scary.
what I could Do
Well, actually post on there, I suppose.
Be cringe authentic and free even if it is scary–
Okay, well. That’s the thing that could be easier said than done, of course.
To start, I think having a bit of a revision of my approach to it would be nice.
- As I said, I like the story format a lot! I want to lean into it. I’d like to come up with new highlight categories and put my stuff there… a little bit more often?
- (brb, I’m gonna post a story right now, honestly!)
- If I do go on there to Consume content, try to get the more inspiring/good vibe from it rather than the doomscroll there
- While I plan to document the avoidance journey on YouTube, mostly, if I feel really good about it for a while we could do a little cheeky crossposting. Mayhaps.
- Gotta share the portfolio on there, man. At least as a story. THE VERY LEAST.
- This place, if I’m feeling bold….
Will it happen? I don’t know! Depends.
updated Thoughts
Having posted a bit recently, I also started thinking a bit about how my profile page is very portfolio-y and how I kinda wanna stray away from that. Not only because sharing work on Meta is scary because the world is so GenAI focused these days, but also because I think it is important to have different purposes for these spaces.
I hope I think about it some more later, but at the moment I feel that:
- although it is a bit intimidating, I will share avoidance journey tidbits on instagram, as well
- having more loose posts on there would be interesting, not just portfolio type things.
- there is an urge for me to nuke everything I have on there, but I am trying to resist.
Same as the above heading though. Will this happen, I don’t know! Depends.
Stay tuned for more updates on this, maybe.