Disillusionment: a feeling of being disappointed and unhappy because of discovering the truth about something or someone that you liked or respected
That is the word that perfectly sums up my previous feelings with Instagram. One of feeling so let down by this platform that I had really enjoyed over the years. I’ve become disappointed, unhappy, and I know I’m not alone in that. So many of us these days are questioning our relationship not only to Instagram, but to social media as a whole.
We question why we’re there.
We question how we can succeed.
We question how we can use it to our advantage.
And then when things don’t work, we start to blame the platform for putting us into some sort of algorithm that no one signed up for.
But here’s the thing that up until the last six months or so I hadn’t even considered for myself: We can opt out.
There is nothing saying that we need to stay on Instagram or that we need to play their games or that if we need to perform there the way we always have.
If Instagram isn’t serving us, we can opt out.
I have been that person who has said “I wish I could leave Instagram but I can’t because of my business.” And granted, would things be tougher without social media? Absolutely. Could I still do it? One thousand percent.
So near the end of 2023, I came up with a new strategy, one that is certainly not approved by social media mentors or those six figure business owners who tell you that you’re doing it all wrong.
My strategy is this: laziness.
What does that mean?
It means I only show up when I want.
It means I only post what I want.
It means I don’t worry about likes and reshares and saves and follower count.
It means I only follow who I want and who makes me happy.
It means I’m not seeking out new accounts in the hopes they’ll follow me back.
It means that I control my Instagram experience, and not the other way around.
I’ve fallen into the trap too many times over the last several years of running my own business that I needed to devote all of my time and energy into creating something AMAZING! INSPIRING! VALUABLE! AESTHETICALLY PLEASING! for Instagram. I’ve taken all the courses, I’ve listened to all the gurus. I’ve done the follow for follow hacks. I’ve hired the people that know more than me.
And you know where it got me? Feeling crappy about myself. Feeling like I needed to value performance over connection. I was being trained to see Instagram as the be all end all of my business succeeding and that was some pressure I hope to never put back on myself. I spent far too much of my time thinking through strategy and making sure I was posting at EXACTLY the right time to make sure I was getting people on the way to work or as they were settling down for the night. Posting just enough but never too much. Figuring out how to trick the algorithm. Searching new hashtags desperate for people to just like what I was putting out there in the hopes that they’d give me money.
Yeah, sounds gross right? It felt like it, too.
So in Q3 of 2023 I decided I was done with it. I unfollowed a bunch of people so I could get a more manageable feed of things that I wanted to see - things that inspired me or made me laugh or just made me happy. I wiped all of my content from the platform and instead shared only my writing from Substack - and I did 3 across posts for each piece of writing here - probably another no-no in Instagram land. And then I decided that was it. If people want to see my feed, that’s cool. If they want to connect with me in stories, that’s cool. If they want to unfollow and move on, that’s cool, too.
It no longer matters to me if I’m “succeeding on Instagram.” What matters more to me is that I’m enjoying myself. I no longer care if I’m showing up a lot or a little. I show up when it feels good. I follow who feels good. I post what feels good. And then I close it down and move on with my day.
It’s the laziest approach to Instagram I can picture for myself - doing what I want, when I want, and not a minute more. I want online Sarah to be as happy as offline Sarah and that’s worth a lot more to me than a handful of new followers, or 7 reshares of something I’ve posted.
Laziness is where it’s at this year.
Love this! Lazy Happiness for the win!
I guess in a way I’m doing something similar. I don’t even open instagram right now because I don’t want to. 😁 I feel so much better when I’m away from there. Though I will admit I miss connecting with a handful of people (because that’s the only place we really connected). I love that I can still connect with you here now though!
Love, love, love this!