I can no longer tell you because I unfollowed everyone and now have a count of zero. And it feels fucking glorious. Damn it feels good to be a gangster. Lol.
1. Snow Globe cocktail recipe from a food influencer.
2. Outfit post from an influencer.
3. Charleston newspaper coverage of Trump's walk across USC's football field.
4. Meme about charcuterie chalets
5. A post from (our pal) Jerry Saltz promoting David Chang's bowl.
6. Vintage lamps from the 70s
7. A post from an influencer
8. Ad for Brightland Olive Oil
9. Zoolamp poster (cool) that turns out to be advertising a lighting sale (why so many lamps today, I am not in the market?)
10. An influencer's tablescape
Honestly, I don't hate it? I would like more art and less influencers but AS an influencer I also want to be supportive. I regularly dream of just unfollowing everyone but would worry too much about hurting friends' feelings and/or ruining brand relationships. I finding myself going on more and more just to post and then leave the app, whereas I can spend way too much time on Substack.
Following news accounts certainly added a dose of whiplash to my feed (I remedied that last night -- why am I following The New York Times on IG if I literally check their website three times per day?)
Your Top Ten doesn't require as much emotional switching, but maybe part of what I'm looking for in my media consumption is depth. The pretty has been all well and good, but after years of it, created with varying degrees of sincerity, I'm craving content that makes me feel something. (Oh, hello, Substack!)
As to worrying about the unfollows... I hear you. I made it through 200+ unfollows last night and then s t r u g g l e d to axe all the friends and clients and art accounts. I'm testing out muting everyone except Bravo accounts and photographers I love in my feed, LOL. All of the support, none of the noise!
I have been having a back and forth battle with myself about quitting Instagram for years! Each year, I delete the app for the time between Christmas and New Years for a mental break. It's always refreshing, and I feel anxious redownloading it, and yet I do? I've been thinking a lot about why I use it and what makes me feel like I can't quit. I think it's the discoverability. Even though 90% of the content does not serve me in a real way, 10% of it DOES offer something I feel like I would be missing out on otherwise. On the simple front, I really do discover a ton of my now favorite smaller brands there through influencers I trust (including Grace Atwood and Jess Kirby!). I don't want to lose that! But more importantly, as I new parent, I find so much useful information through accounts like The Pediatrician Mom or Emily Oster. But if I'm honest, I also find content in those same spaces that is triggering (the data on RSV for infants, etc.). I read a piece about gentle parenting defectors on Romper (shared by Leslie Stephens in her fabulous newsletter) that made me rethink the way I'm receiving even the useful information about parenting, which is what is mostly taking up my brain space these days. A line from the piece reads "When the tantrum ends, you play back the tape, see how you did. The mental browser tab never closes." And while this is specifically about parenting techniques, it applies to a lot of the baby development or parenting advice I find and save on Instagram. Using it as a place to research and find information I otherwise wouldn't, it never allows my mental browser to close. I'm comparing my instincts and my behavior modeled after the advice I absorb to what I'm told is the right thing to do. This could be said for blogs or books on parenting too, but what I think makes Instagram specifically difficult here is the bite sized content that doesn't allow for nuance or more explanation. It's exhausting and negates whatever helpful content I find.
I had been thinking about a solution before I saw your post, and funny enough, I think newsletters might actually be the answer for me. As you mentioned, you get real story in newsletters. Intstagram leaves our brains wanting more from those we do resonate with and I think newsletters like yours offer the chance at actual connection, in whatever way that is actually possible through a screen. Newsletters (and blogs, which I still love!) allow for the discoverability piece, too. I do love seeing try ons and new products my favorite influencers are loving, and those can still be found, but maybe in a more thoughtful way. I'm not sure I will ever actually fully quit the app, especially because I work in communications, but I do think it would be useful to make a plan to develop a healthier relationship with it.
I am LOVING your newsletter and have found each one to hit home. Thank you so much for writing!
I hear you on the discoverability. I think it's truly the slot machine analogy that has done us in. We keep pulling the lever, and it rarely hits, but when it does, the payout feels great.
My daughter is 3 now, but I can relate to your experience from my earliest parenting days. While the info I found on IG and FB was useful, for me personally, about a year I realized in it was only adding to my anxiety around new motherhood. I scaled WAY back and only visited specific accounts when I was seeking out a particular viewpoint or approach, versus letting the "advice" get fed to me without warning. As my daughter is older now, I don't look at any parenting accounts at all, and it was such a relief to not give them a second thought anymore. So no matter what you decide, know there will come a point where you won't rely on them for the sheer fact or your child's growth and independence!
Thank you for the kind words too! I'm love being here and writing and chatting. :)
Totally agree with you that our brains are not meant for this kind of frenetic switching and multi tasking. I used to feel more Instagram burnout but then I became even more militant about who I'm following (not like I followed that many people to begin with), and realllllllly pared things down. I did this with the intention of getting my feed back to a place where 95% of the content I'm seeing (minus a few ads) is truly stuff I want to see, is informative, is personal, etc. I really now just see things from my closest friends, photography that makes me happy, small businesses I love, and a few content creators that I really trust and derive great joy and inspiration from. I enjoy Instagram again! I've also muted many folks on either posts or stories depending on what content of theirs speaks more to me, so that I'm not inundated. I've also recently discovered there are creators who I feel do not translate (for me) on Instagram, but I love their content on another platform like Tiktok and so I've followed them there instead.
It's heartening to hear the paring down CAN work. A couple years ago, I tried following a huge number of art/photography/design accounts, thinking this would tell the algorithm, "Show me stuff like this, plz." It only sort of worked, because at the end of the day, the algo's job is to show me things I engage with, and when you follow news sites n such, you inevitably stop to read their posts and captions. Hence my mishmash of emotional switching.
I think the habit of following someone or something you love across all their available platforms is also a recipe for disaster. If I'm already getting a newsletter from a brand, I don't really need to follow them on IG to know about a sale or product drop. Ditto news, influencer blog posts...kind of everything except artists/photographers!
Ooh, ok, this is super interesting, and I love hearing from a "new feature" perspective. (I seriously wonder if they'd ever roll this out in the US though, because I feel like the potential to make money from marketers is greater than any revenue they can generate from the user base itself??)
I also think it's interesting slash hilarious that even ad free, the app has "native" ads it's pushing on you to keep consuming its own content. I think I'd almost prefer beautifully produced ads for things I *might* be interested in than constant suggestions!
Curious: can you still "hide" the suggested posts for 30 days within your feed?
I can no longer tell you because I unfollowed everyone and now have a count of zero. And it feels fucking glorious. Damn it feels good to be a gangster. Lol.
Hope you have that song on repeat these days.
Mine:
1. Snow Globe cocktail recipe from a food influencer.
2. Outfit post from an influencer.
3. Charleston newspaper coverage of Trump's walk across USC's football field.
4. Meme about charcuterie chalets
5. A post from (our pal) Jerry Saltz promoting David Chang's bowl.
6. Vintage lamps from the 70s
7. A post from an influencer
8. Ad for Brightland Olive Oil
9. Zoolamp poster (cool) that turns out to be advertising a lighting sale (why so many lamps today, I am not in the market?)
10. An influencer's tablescape
Honestly, I don't hate it? I would like more art and less influencers but AS an influencer I also want to be supportive. I regularly dream of just unfollowing everyone but would worry too much about hurting friends' feelings and/or ruining brand relationships. I finding myself going on more and more just to post and then leave the app, whereas I can spend way too much time on Substack.
Following news accounts certainly added a dose of whiplash to my feed (I remedied that last night -- why am I following The New York Times on IG if I literally check their website three times per day?)
Your Top Ten doesn't require as much emotional switching, but maybe part of what I'm looking for in my media consumption is depth. The pretty has been all well and good, but after years of it, created with varying degrees of sincerity, I'm craving content that makes me feel something. (Oh, hello, Substack!)
As to worrying about the unfollows... I hear you. I made it through 200+ unfollows last night and then s t r u g g l e d to axe all the friends and clients and art accounts. I'm testing out muting everyone except Bravo accounts and photographers I love in my feed, LOL. All of the support, none of the noise!
I have been having a back and forth battle with myself about quitting Instagram for years! Each year, I delete the app for the time between Christmas and New Years for a mental break. It's always refreshing, and I feel anxious redownloading it, and yet I do? I've been thinking a lot about why I use it and what makes me feel like I can't quit. I think it's the discoverability. Even though 90% of the content does not serve me in a real way, 10% of it DOES offer something I feel like I would be missing out on otherwise. On the simple front, I really do discover a ton of my now favorite smaller brands there through influencers I trust (including Grace Atwood and Jess Kirby!). I don't want to lose that! But more importantly, as I new parent, I find so much useful information through accounts like The Pediatrician Mom or Emily Oster. But if I'm honest, I also find content in those same spaces that is triggering (the data on RSV for infants, etc.). I read a piece about gentle parenting defectors on Romper (shared by Leslie Stephens in her fabulous newsletter) that made me rethink the way I'm receiving even the useful information about parenting, which is what is mostly taking up my brain space these days. A line from the piece reads "When the tantrum ends, you play back the tape, see how you did. The mental browser tab never closes." And while this is specifically about parenting techniques, it applies to a lot of the baby development or parenting advice I find and save on Instagram. Using it as a place to research and find information I otherwise wouldn't, it never allows my mental browser to close. I'm comparing my instincts and my behavior modeled after the advice I absorb to what I'm told is the right thing to do. This could be said for blogs or books on parenting too, but what I think makes Instagram specifically difficult here is the bite sized content that doesn't allow for nuance or more explanation. It's exhausting and negates whatever helpful content I find.
I had been thinking about a solution before I saw your post, and funny enough, I think newsletters might actually be the answer for me. As you mentioned, you get real story in newsletters. Intstagram leaves our brains wanting more from those we do resonate with and I think newsletters like yours offer the chance at actual connection, in whatever way that is actually possible through a screen. Newsletters (and blogs, which I still love!) allow for the discoverability piece, too. I do love seeing try ons and new products my favorite influencers are loving, and those can still be found, but maybe in a more thoughtful way. I'm not sure I will ever actually fully quit the app, especially because I work in communications, but I do think it would be useful to make a plan to develop a healthier relationship with it.
I am LOVING your newsletter and have found each one to hit home. Thank you so much for writing!
I hear you on the discoverability. I think it's truly the slot machine analogy that has done us in. We keep pulling the lever, and it rarely hits, but when it does, the payout feels great.
My daughter is 3 now, but I can relate to your experience from my earliest parenting days. While the info I found on IG and FB was useful, for me personally, about a year I realized in it was only adding to my anxiety around new motherhood. I scaled WAY back and only visited specific accounts when I was seeking out a particular viewpoint or approach, versus letting the "advice" get fed to me without warning. As my daughter is older now, I don't look at any parenting accounts at all, and it was such a relief to not give them a second thought anymore. So no matter what you decide, know there will come a point where you won't rely on them for the sheer fact or your child's growth and independence!
Thank you for the kind words too! I'm love being here and writing and chatting. :)
Totally agree with you that our brains are not meant for this kind of frenetic switching and multi tasking. I used to feel more Instagram burnout but then I became even more militant about who I'm following (not like I followed that many people to begin with), and realllllllly pared things down. I did this with the intention of getting my feed back to a place where 95% of the content I'm seeing (minus a few ads) is truly stuff I want to see, is informative, is personal, etc. I really now just see things from my closest friends, photography that makes me happy, small businesses I love, and a few content creators that I really trust and derive great joy and inspiration from. I enjoy Instagram again! I've also muted many folks on either posts or stories depending on what content of theirs speaks more to me, so that I'm not inundated. I've also recently discovered there are creators who I feel do not translate (for me) on Instagram, but I love their content on another platform like Tiktok and so I've followed them there instead.
It's heartening to hear the paring down CAN work. A couple years ago, I tried following a huge number of art/photography/design accounts, thinking this would tell the algorithm, "Show me stuff like this, plz." It only sort of worked, because at the end of the day, the algo's job is to show me things I engage with, and when you follow news sites n such, you inevitably stop to read their posts and captions. Hence my mishmash of emotional switching.
I think the habit of following someone or something you love across all their available platforms is also a recipe for disaster. If I'm already getting a newsletter from a brand, I don't really need to follow them on IG to know about a sale or product drop. Ditto news, influencer blog posts...kind of everything except artists/photographers!
As always, thanks for reading and commenting! :)
I relate intensely to the only wanting to follow Bravo accounts haha, it's the only place I can find my people!!
My dream is to organize a group of online friends to go to BravoCon. Do any of us know each other? NO! Would we have the best time ever? YES!
My personalized link rec for you is to subscribe to Brian Moylan's Housewives Institute newsletter (if you haven't already!). Published by Vulture/NY Magazine: https://www.vulture.com/housewives-institute-bulletin/
Omg THE DREAM!! I would love to be apart of said group of online Bravoholic friends!!! Or help create that group and make it a reality!
I do subscribe to Brian's newsletter, love his content!
MY PEOPLE!
Ooh, ok, this is super interesting, and I love hearing from a "new feature" perspective. (I seriously wonder if they'd ever roll this out in the US though, because I feel like the potential to make money from marketers is greater than any revenue they can generate from the user base itself??)
I also think it's interesting slash hilarious that even ad free, the app has "native" ads it's pushing on you to keep consuming its own content. I think I'd almost prefer beautifully produced ads for things I *might* be interested in than constant suggestions!
Curious: can you still "hide" the suggested posts for 30 days within your feed?