Do It For The Gram?

I have an intense love-hate relationship with Instagram. Recalling to when I first made my account six years ago I thought it was the coolest app! I loved taking pictures and expressing my creative side with fun pictures of everyday things. I wasn’t worried about captions, a consistent filter, or even what people would think of me when I chose a picture to post. I posted everyday things, mundane things, but would find the beauty in that.

As I scroll down through the past six years, I have realized that slowly the organic creativity faded. I became uptight about lighting, borders, and how my picture I wanted to post would look with my current theme. This has made me ask myself the question lately- what made me change? The answer? Pressure, comparison, wanting more followers and likes. It’s embarrassing to say, or write. Why did I buy into this “perfectionism” of the Insta world.

I question myself on this because it should not matter. I was putting my worth as a woman into what my Instagram account looked like. You could call my account fake, not real life, and definitely just the highlight reel of my life. When I would realize I hadn’t posted a picture in the last four days, I would start to become stressed out and “stage” an image to make it seem like I lived a glamorous life. Where this might not sound that bad, it is. It is because I was not being authentic. Life isn’t always traveling and friends who eat brunch together every weekend. Where those things are not wrong in of themselves or even posting about them is not bad, the problem is when I would portray my whole life like that. I have constant struggles, and where I don’t necessarily need to post about those either, it is very inauthentic to pretend like they don’t exist.

I believe I am not the only woman who feels this type of pressure when it comes to social media. I want to encourage you to take this pressure out of your life. Social media is fleeting, our self-esteem and happiness is real and should not be compromised by trying to keep up with everyone on our newsfeed. Our worth is NOT found in an app.

One of the ways I am going to put this into action, while still enjoying my Instagram, is by only posting when something eventful happens. I know posting pictures this way will help me in several ways; not feeling pressured to post every day, living in the moment instead of worried about what I should document, and showcasing big moments in my life while not making it seem like my life is a constant party. I also will be fighting the temptation to have a “perfect theme” by bringing back the creativity that I had when I first started my account six years ago.

This is what I am doing because it works best for my emotional health. I challenge you to find your own way to take that pressure away, if you find yourself performing for your Instagram. It might be challenging at first, but when you realize you are not your Instagram, I have full confidence you will enjoy this new way of media.