Blue Notes

Blue Notes

18 January 2015

The Instagram Obsession

– What’s your Instagram profile?
– I don’t have one.
– You don’t… what??!
– Yes
– … [thinking: OMG]
So you don’t take photos of every meal you eat? You don’t let your friends touch their food only after you have taken your photo? You don’t spend two hours a day scrolling down images or waiting for your daily dose of heart-shaped-self-esteem?
Impossible. But yes, there’s still someone in the world without an Insta account. I sometimes meet one of those rare specimens. Not a blogger, of course.
Because you can be a blogger without having a blog (true story) but you can’t be one without Instagram.
You can even be called a web influencer just by having an Instagram account (ok, it’s fine for me).
But all that means now that if I once used to be just a random healthy Instagram user I suddenly found myself surrended by a big (square) tough competition.
I loved Instagram from the first moment, we all do. Addiction happens soon. But for years I just used to publish random photos: oh that’s cute, what a nice landscape, click, click.
Big mistake. Big. Huge!
I am supposed to be a blogger and as a blogger you need some Instagram planning, a strategy.
You have to find out, through complex algorithms, the best minute of the day for posting your pictures. On other blogs you can read tons of tutorials on how to get more Instagram followers. Which are all very helpful and go like: “1. always take good photos” oh really? thanx I never thought about that before.
Because a successful blogger, does she really want to tell you how she got her followers, right?
Or you can buy followers. That’s the easy way. But I won’t get into that.
We all have our own personal moral code.
We have reached the point where Instagram has the power to influence our mood. That’s for sure.
If you are in a good day you scroll down bloggers photos and you think:
Oh I’m working to get that perfect body too. 
What a nice bag. 
Cool party!
While in a bad day it just goes:
Perfect body? I’ll better eat another cookie. 
Super bag? Just too expensive for me. 
Cool party? I’m watching tv on the couch right now.
And you just get more frustrated than before.
The point is that Instagram at “high blogger levels” is not spontaneous at all anymore (quite funny for an app that was created for the opposite reason).
Each photo is organized and shot to build up a little perfect moment. Yes, beautiful, perfect.
But because it was created to be perfect.
So we just have to stop comparing those fake perfect moments with our own lives.
Because real life is not always picture-perfect.
And there’s not even a filter to use.

 

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21 comments

  1. verissimo! personalmente non potrei mai avere un profilo curatissimo e pensatissimo, altrimenti come dici tu non avrebbe neanche senso il social! per quelle che sono diventate influencer senza neanche un blog… no comment, è meglio

    ROCK AND FIOCC

    • :)

      Erica Blue

  2. Great article and all you are saying is just so true. Would not mind reading more of this on your blog :)
    Have a nice Sunday!

    http://superjasmin.blogspot.de/

    Jana

    • Thanks Jana, will try to write more!

      Erica Blue

  3. Great article! I know what you're talking about and I see some much fakeness around me. But on the on the other side, Instagram gives me the possibility to be creative all day. With my food, daily life or beautiful shots of nature.

    X

    Joy. | justlikesushi.com |

    Joy. | JUSTLIKESUSHI.COM

    • Yes that's true Joy, I still enjoy creativity and taking good photos too!

      Erica Blue

  4. Lèpide osservazioni!

    Edgar

    • 😀

      Erica Blue

  5. Condivido tutto, mi chiedo soprattutto cosa faranno le influencer di Instagram quando questa moda scemerà o muterà. Basta una banale riflessione per rendersi conto che meno di dieci anni fa stavamo su messenger a farci i trilli.

    Rossana

    • Beh loro troveranno sicuramente qualcosa da fare, di certo andrà meglio a loro che a quelle che si sbattono dai tempi di messenger. Ho come l'impressione che di solito vada così.

      Erica Blue

  6. Grazie per questo articolo! Certo, ho alcuni amici online. Ma io non voglio dare l'accesso alla mia vita per tutto il mondo, come in Instragram. Imparo l'Italiano, allora leggo il Suo blog. Mi ricordo il Suo primo post del 2015. Lei scrive i testi abbastanza insoliti e profondi per fashion blog. I apologize for the errors in my message e grazie ancora :)

    Anonymous

    • Grazie :)

      Erica Blue

  7. Io ho un blog ma ho deciso di usare Instagram solo per me stessa, posto quello che mi garba, seguo chi mi piace (quasi nessun blogger ;-)) e va bene così. Ho già fb di dominio pubblico e basta e avanza.

    giulia

    • scelta controcorrente!

      Erica Blue

  8. Non ho Instagram. Non ho Facebook. Non guardo la tv.
    Mi fa ribrezzo il controllo di massa.

    Anonymous

    • Però leggi il mio blog, ottimo ;D

      Erica Blue

  9. Perfetta sintesi della situazione…brava!!!! Tranne Facebook non ho altri social con cui confrontarmi…e pensa….campo bene lo stesso. Ma che non si sappia troppo in giro… :)

    Tiziana

    Tiziana

    • Ti ringrazio Tiziana!

      Erica Blue

  10. This is not the first time u have been in line with my feelings ( see the no socks in sandals in freezing weather during fashion week). What u feel for Instagram i feel for Facebook ( though i know i am so last year :)) ). One of my resolutions this year is to try not to let all the perfect lives influence my state of mind and just be happy with my own life by living it to the fullest. It is not so long time ago that we kept in touch with our friend by calling them or by paying them a visit, and i was perfectly happy not knowing what strangers did every day. I am sure glad i read your blog though :))) A little paradox to end a point.

    Ana

    • Thanx Ana, perfectly on point :)

      Erica Blue

  11. Davvero la penso allo stesso ed identico modo. Mi sembra inutile però dirlo… Tanto siamo tutti vecchi di mente e nessuno si renderà conto di quanto ci stiamo rovinando la vita ed il cervello… Purtroppo

    Jessica