offline joy/instagram
I've been off of Instagram since November 2023. Popped into the conversation on and off. With equal rapidity, I've also signed off and deactivated my account several times. Sometimes I haven't deactivated my account and just let it run without me, eyeing how many followers I would get in the process [but most importantly, how many people would see my blog link and click on it]
I'm not sure, honestly, how many people have clicked on my link. Instagram is not for writers or readers like me. I knew that, but it didn't really hit me that my time was honestly being wasted trying to promote it on there.
I want to cultivate a minimal following of people who read & feel energized and exhilarated by my scribblings here. I can easily do this by forming more intimate connections, in my own way that makes me feel good.
I've already realized about myself that I do tend to get sucked into information-overload. I've tried to follow a lot of people. Never worked out. Every time. Because I really want to take my time consuming their content. But each day, there is more and more content to sift through [in a random order or an order I never curated for myself].
I've also realized that I'm interested in fewer people than I really realize [based on how I interact on Instagram].
I feel disgusted by all the ads, all the maximalist content involving influencers trend-setting. All the inauthenticity.
The people that have viewed my stories, liked my pictures are all the same 14 or so people. The people whose content I consume [a female comedian, a female podcaster on pop culture/politics, an environmental jobs board, and a sex educator] are just four people. And I can easily follow their content on another platform that I find more minimal, more socially engaging, and more organized/curated.
I acknowledge that the more I am on the platform and the more people I follow, the better my engagement is.
Throughout the years, I've created story highlights on my page. These included the Spotify playlists I've created, the micro biz I attempted to start, my film recommendations, my plastic-free living practices, and my attempts at learning cocktail jazz piano. I can easily share that with people I already know or who I've formed a more personal connection with online.
But I think the most important reason is because I don't like to spend a lot of time on my phone in general. I'm turned off by how many people are on their phone.
I've always been attracted to doing what other people aren't doing. It's one of the reasons that I write here on Bear instead of Squarespace. I tried to do Wix but it was too complicated.
When off IG, what I don't have is the bad feeling after checking it. The emotion of feeling unnecessarily disappointed. Basking in "micro-boredom," there's less constant checking & micro-switching. This is good for my brain.
I spend more time offline, writing, reading, stretching, listening to music. I genuinely enjoy these activities and want to do them more.
I've found joy in doing this little experiment.
Closing this loop.