*Dear IG: when you try to assume what we like and when we like it , you make an ASS out of YOU and ME*
What was so wrong with the old days, when you simply trusted that we actually like all of the people that we follow? My own feed includes crocheters, bloggers, bookstagrammers potterheads, hedgehogs, Kardashians and the entire cast of Dance Moms. I love a good Abbey Lee rant, but I also love the adventures of little Pokee and a few flatlays in between. But if I didn't want to see them, I wouldn't follow them!
*Even if your own 'following' list is slightly less random than my own, Pokee the Hedgehog is guaranteed to make you smile in 99.9% of cases, the 0.1% being Dementors without a soul.*
We could really use more #instasmiles these days... or just a bit more INSTANT. Apparently people are even scheduling instagram stories now? Oh MY GODRIC, where does it end!? How did we get so caught up in this game of likes, calculations, followers, filters and comparisons? A game that, until not so long ago, I was playing too. I was stressing and second-guessing and, what's more, I know I'm not alone in this; how many "beat the algorithm" blog posts have been written in 2017? We place so much value on what other people will like and how we compare to them. What happened to just being?
So in the past month, I decided that enough was enough and I set myself a challenge: STUPEFY THE ALGORITHM and just BE YOU. I will leave you to decide if it worked...
I was inspired to write this post after sharing the IG photo below. Here's the backstory: I wanted to fulfil the blogging cliche and share a "shoes and leaves" shot. However, my boots were muddy and I attempted to use the "healing tool" on an editing app #instaready. After several attempts and giving those celebrity photoshop fails a run for their money, I *nearly* decided not to post. Nearly. An hour later, I shared my muddy boots and unearthed the real story. It was one of the most candid and spontaneous posts I've made, yet was also one of my most 'liked'! Instead of spending half an hour on a one-sentence pun, I wrote a mini-essay in around 5 minutes and it was a real turning point.
*caution: my rambles are no longer exclusive to this blog*
Last month I joined in with the #MakersGetReal challenge started by Lindsay at Bundle Handmade. I'll admit that I didn't do every day and may go back to it at some point, but it helped me in so many ways:
1. Engaging with other Makers: Since opening my Etsy Store, around 50% of my photos are craft-related. Consequently, I've been wanting to engage more with the makers community and this hashtag was the perfect answer! I've found so many wonderful accounts and love seeing what others create.
2. Removing the Filter: I mentioned this earlier, but I really can't advocate it enough: GET REAL! The relationship between Instagram and Mental Health has been discussed a lot this year and I do think people are getting more clued up to the reality... INSTAGRAM ISN'T REALITY. I loved sharing my behind the scenes moments and it turned out to be great exposure therapy for anxiety! Would you take part in one?
When it comes to writing captions, I now swear by the saying: "ask and you shall receive". I used to spend ages coming up with a snappy pun to conclude my captions, whereas now I like to end with a question. - and not simply to'get likes'! I ask questions I genuinely want to hear the answers too, such as book recommendations or ideas for self-care I've noticed that engagement on my posts has increased and, most importantly, it's real engagement. One meaningful response means more to me than a dozen "this is so cool!" comments or 100 likes. What means more to you?
I've talked 'getting real', but that doesn't always mean sharing the imperfections. Sometimes it's just SHARING. I like the idea of IG being a little time capsule, capturing the moments that make me smile. It's my version 'highlight reel', without the #beachbodyready bikini photos and cold flat white - is that flatlay really worth it?
Right now, nothing makes me happier than my dream of becoming a Primary Teacher, so I want to talk more about it. If others want to hear, that's amazing. If they don't, that's okay too and perhaps my account isn't for them. You can't be all things to all people - unless you're St. David Attenborough - but you can be you. The waving Elf below is more 'Sophie' than a MAC Lipstick could ever be. I'm more Lovegood than Kardashian and I'm not ashamed of that! I've spent too much of my life worrying what others think; it's time to free the elf and free myself.
Of all the habits I had to stupefy, deleting photos was the trickiest. Only a month ago, it reached the point where every other photo I published would mysteriously disappear from my grid a week later. I was trying to play "the algorithm game" and, looking back, perfectionism completely took over. I'd have a dozen edits of one photo and stress over which to use. Photos had to 'balance' with the one next to/above/below it, or it would be deleted. People reading this may either relate, or think I'm crazy. Trust me, I'm going with the latter!
However, I feel genuine pride in saying I DID IT. October was the month of not deleting and my "exposure therapy" worked. I find that I fixate less on the little things and have more time for the things that MATTER; namely discovering new accounts, engaging with old favourites and having a TRUE account of my own life. Perhaps I did get carried away with Dobby photos lost followers as a result, but that is what I wanted to post! Plus if someone doesn't have time for House Elves, they're an Umbridge and I don't have time for them!
TAKING A BREAK
Can we appreciate the irony that I can't actually go on Instagram right now, due to the lack of iPhonegeneral sanity? Seriously though, it's been 4 days since I lost my Apple baby and it's starting to take its toll - my morning alarm is NATURAL LIGHT and I've gained a newfound appreciation for the Metro newspaper (more on my phoneless days to come). For those savvy people who use scheduling apps, IG would continue come rain or shine; for me, however, in my algorithmically-challenged world, we've been on a ROSS GELLAR BREAK....
Can we appreciate the irony that I can't actually go on Instagram right now, due to the lack of iPhone
...and it was needed! For starters, it's proven that THE WORLD WILL NOT END IF YOU TAKE A BREAK FROM SOCIAL MEDIA. If Ross and Rachel can survive it, we can too. Yet I think the biggest silver has been perspective. I've had time to"sort out my [IG] priorities". I don't miss the algorithm, the editing, the second-guessing, the #ads or the 'likes' I miss checking up on Pokee, exploring the #ToysForSyrianRefugees tag and engaging with Potterhead Bookstagrammers! I miss capturing and sharing the moments that make me smile; not stressing about what the algorithm wants to see. So when I do return, I'm going to prioritise ME.
There may be people who clicked on this post and hoped for a "magical answer". Perhaps some of them stopped reading long before now, because they wanted a way to gain likes and I wanted to ramble about Harry Potter and Hedgehogs (seriously though guys, Mr. Pokee has a face like sunshine!)
On the other hand, I do wonder if there is a 3rd group: the people who followed the *clickbait* and , like me, stressed about the algorithm. People who, perhaps, read this and found an answer they weren't looking for; a new way of looking at things.
For what it's worth, I still have my days where I want to delete a photo/feel judged by what I share. However, those days are fewer and I feel altogether happier since making these changes. Life is about so more more than gaining likes/followers and, as cliche as it may sound, you can gain so much more by simply BEING YOURSELF.
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