If there is one online social relationship that keeps me on my toes, it’s gotta be Instagram
I remember joining this platform back in 2016 where everyone was posting their outfits or food they ate and also aesthetic feeds.
6 years later here we are with 15, 30 and 60 second Reels, Stories, Posts and Lives. A never ending slot machine of random videos that are referred to you only because someone you know might have watched it. The same video keeps looping within your online social circle. There is no beginning and no end.
In July 2022, I felt like I needed a break from all of the swiping addiction so I took a hiatus. My fingers and mind got bored and cramped of the repeated videos. I no longer felt like I was watching unique content. Everything looked the same. Although trends are cool, they start to get stale when exposed too much to them.
After much self-debate, I questioned if I should continue to use the platform. Should I quit cold turkey again? Stop creating content? What do I want to get out of it? Do I even want anything from it? Should I continue to give it my attention? All these questions to answer.
And it just came down to social media fatigue. But it’s weird because I only felt like this with Instagram, not YouTube, not Tumblr, not Pinterest and not WordPress. For some reason, fast paced videos make me tired lol. I like the slow life. Why rush a good thing?
Instagram is a really good social media marketing tool, no doubt. But when you are a small creator, it’s like going against the ocean of gatekeeping content creators. Will you fit in, how much content should you be posting, how often? do you have to show your face? Do you want your face to be the brand of the account?
My advice would be to take as much breaks as possible. However ever long or short you wish to take breaks from social media. Scheduling in time to either post or watch content is also helpful in limiting your attention to these attention seekers as I call them.
Your time and attention is precious.
What has been the longest you’ve gone without Instagram? If you left, why did you never go back? If you left and came back to it, why did you stay? Are there other platforms that you dedicate more of your time to?
Let me know what are your thoughts on Instagram and your experiences with the platform 🙂