Why Instagram Is Wearing Me Down

Before I dive into this post, I'd just like to point out that this is in no way meant as a whine fest or a pity party, it's just me venting and hoping some of you relate to what I'm feeling at the moment.

I started my Instagram account (shameless plug alert – @franciscamayyy) last year because I needed a creative outlet after starting my first job. At the time I felt very trapped creatively, like I had so many ideas, thoughts and projects in my mind but no place to pour them into. One day I decided to create my little corner on the Instaweb and I haven't looked back since: I adore the whole process of thinking of new props, flatlay ideas and the often dreaded composition, shooting my photos and editing them (probably my favourite part of all). However, lately I've been feeling like utter sh*t about this whole thing and here's why...

Changes within Instagram

If you, like me, are a small drop of water in the big ocean that is the Beauty Instagram World, then I'm sure this has affected you tremendously. My engagement used to be great and rising steadily each week, but since the algorithm changed (again) our accounts seem to be growing at a snail's pace – or even not growing at all. I'm not talking about followers alone because that's not the only thing I'm concerned about at all, it just feels like you're standing on a tiny soapbox screaming at the top of your lungs and no one hears you. Dramatic, I know, but my point is, my/our posts reach less than half the people they used to these days.

What's worse than bots and spam? Big accounts following and unfollowing you

Here's the thing... If I had a massive account, there's one thing I can assure you of: I would never partake in the whole follow and unfollow stupidity. What's the point? You're making me feel happy (and somewhat validated, what can you do?) that one of my favourite accounts likes my feed enough to follow me back, only to be an absolute twat and use it just to grow your own following. That's ridiculous and actually annoys me to no end – yes, even more than flipping bots.

The sheer discouragement that being a daily Instagrammer brings along

Let me explain: few things make me feel as fulfilled as running my Instagram account, but I can't tell you the amount of sadness I've seen from some of my favourite Instagrammers and experienced myself in these last couple of months. Everyone feels like they're taking precious time off their days to think of creative content and develop it, only to have it not even reach anyone. This goes hand in hand with point number 1, but it feels immensely discouraging to invest so much time (and even money) into this and feeling like there's no return – not monetary return, obviously, but just general feedback and appreciation. 

The exhaustion of juggling a blog, Instagram and our job

Some people have worked hard and are fortunate enough to live off blogging and other forms of social media, but for the vast majority of us, we have to juggle our jobs and this amazing hobby – however gratifying it may be, it can take its toll and priorities must be set; when that happens, of course our job always has to come first.

My days off usually go a bit like this: wake up at 8 (as I do everyday), do my usual social media scroll and then get up to shoot some photos, edit them and prepare some posts in bulk for the whole week. This is entirely my choice and I COULD just not give a damn and sleep away my days off, but I choose to do this because I'm truly passionate about this whole thing – it just sucks when there's no return on the other side.

Can you relate to any of these? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter!