Why I quit Instagram, then joined again

Re-finding joy and inspiration when it comes to social media

I drew the Ace of Wands again this morning. This is the third time that I’ve drawn that particular card recently. According to Wild Card by Jen Cownie and Fiona Lensvelt, the Ace of Wands is all about potential, possibilities and power. Where do you want to channel your energy? What do you want to do and be?

These are the questions I have been asking myself again and again lately. Having stepped away from pursuing a career as a singer-songwriter this year, I’ve felt pulled in so many directions, wondering what I should be focussing on now. What is my purpose?

Probably unsurprisingly, this year I also started enjoying using Instagram less and less. It makes sense - no one wants to see everyone else around them succeeding when they feel like they’re failing. I was deleting the app from my phone all the time, hardly posting, and muting accounts that weren’t making me feel good. Eventually, I deleted the app altogether.

As a musician, you’re told that you need to be posting on Instagram and TikTok all the time - I’m pretty sure this is the case with all of the arts. These days, it’s up to us as artists to promote and market our art, and by association, ourselves. This can be fun at times, but I was noticing more and more that this side of the business was getting me down, taking my focus away from creating. Eventually, this led to writer’s block, burnout, and me stepping away from the music industry altogether.

There are of course many other reasons why I have decided to do this. I’m getting older, growing and changing, I want to do other things, explore other facets of my creativity, etc. But I do think that social media has a big part to play in why I stopped enjoying the process of making music. I felt trapped by what I felt I should be doing. It has become so deeply ingrained in all of us I think, what we should and shouldn’t be doing. Who made all these rules and why are we following them?

I just started

Annie Ridout

’s The Creative Way course this week. The first module is all about using Instagram authentically. Rather than playing by the so-called ‘rules’, i.e. posting at a certain time every day and trying to get as many followers as possible, Annie talks about sharing what excites you and how this shines through and resonates with your followers - posting from a place of inspiration, not desperation. It’s such a simple idea but nobody else, at least that I’ve come across, is talking about this.

I had stopped enjoying posting on Instagram for a lot of reasons, but a major one was because I felt trapped, stifled by what I was ‘supposed’ to be doing, which wasn’t allowing me to be authentic. I stopped wanting to share. I didn’t know why I was doing it anymore.

But encouraged by Annie’s course, a couple of days ago I created a new Instagram account. Just the fact that I no longer feel I have to post solely about music, but can for example share things like my writing and books I’m reading, has had a huge impact on how I feel about Instagram. I no longer feel restricted and stifled. I feel able to share my authentic self.

musicandwords_

A post shared by @musicandwords_

Of course, Instagram has changed in the last few years, from a simple app used primarily for sharing pictures with friends to an influencer-led, algorithm-ruled marketing tool. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still use the app in a way that works for us. Rather than following lots and lots of accounts that I end up muting, I am choosing to be very selective, only following those that feel safe, cosy and authentic. This means that it is unlikely I will have lots of followers, but I’d rather have fewer followers who are actually interested in me, what I’m doing and making and what I have to say, than thousands of people who aren’t really bothered.

What about you? Do you resonate with any of the above? Do you have Instagram and do you still enjoy using it? Or have you given up and deleted it? Let me know in the comments!