How I'm Learning To Love Instagram Again

Y'all it's been a ROUGH few months with Instagram. I don't even have to just call out the bloggers with this opinion, since it seems like everyone is frustrated with the app in one way or another. I'm not going to lie, I've loathed using the app since around July after my optimism of the new changes officially ran out. I was only using it because it's necessary as a blogger. I would open the app, passively engage with others, publish my post and then toss my phone to the side. I don't think I've enjoyed scrolling down my feed since May, and because of that I haven't wanted to engage with people in the way that Instagram was originally made for. Sure, I've replied to comments (sparingly, and I'm trying to change that!) and I've interacted with some accounts and hashtags to try and make use of the new algorithm, but I haven't enjoyed much of it. I'm tired of hating Instagram though, and have decided to make my use of the app less about what I can get from it and more about how I can enjoy it again. I want to use Instagram the way I used it in the beginning. It was a way to build connections with others, view inspirational photos, and interact in a genuine way. I'm slowly starting to take steps in this direction, and thought I would share what I'm doing in case any of you are feeling the same way!

Unfollow Everyone Who Doesn't Inspire You

Doing this has already made such a difference in my Instagram experience. I was following 2600+ people. Some were people I met once and connected with on Instagram and then never talked to again. Some were people I followed back in the day when I followed people back. Others I'm not even sure when I started following them. I decided to purge all my followers that I no longer liked seeing. It takes so long to go through that many followers and I'm currently down to about 1200, but I'm already seeing such a difference in my feed. I used to scroll through my home feed and not know who 90% of the people were, but now I see familiar faces and fun posts that I actually care about. I think this will be the biggest step in learning to love Instagram again. If I love what I'm seeing and can recognize who I'm following I'll definitely be engaging in the community more.

Stop Focusing On Numbers

This is the hardest one to accept, especially for bloggers, but I think it's necessary. Will I still want to increase my followings and likes? Of course! But it's not what I should be caring about most above everything else. Community building and taking quality photos should be your main concern, otherwise just enjoy looking at everyone's images! I would (and still do) get paranoid about my numbers going down, but it's something that I haven't been able to change in the last few months and I want to stop worrying about it. If I focus on creating better content and actually engaging with other people and bloggers, I hope that my following will reflect that. But if it doesn't change I don't want the numbers to dictate how I feel for the day.

Use Stories More "Authentically"

I put authentically in quotes because although I feel like I'm already using the stories feature authentically, I want to start using it not just to update you about new products and blog posts. I love seeing other bloggers post photos and videos from their daily lives that have nothing to do with their latest posts. Don't get me wrong, I love sharing and viewing stories that go over new posts, fun mail days, unboxings, etc. but I also like to see the "real" side to bloggers as well. I figure that if I like seeing this side of bloggers, I should probably follow their lead and share aspects of my life that aren't so curated. I haven't started applying this yet because of my current situation (which many of you are aware of, but I will probably hold off talking about on the blog for a little while), but hope to do so in the upcoming weeks! 

I'm excited to see how these tactics work out for me, and would love to know if you try these tips out for yourself! I really hope we can go back to the old Instagram ways where connecting with others, or at least start merging back in that direction. I know things will never be the way they used to be, but there's no point dwelling on that and hoping against hope that things will change. (Especially because it's looking like Instagram won't budge on anything.) Hopefully we can make these changes ourselves and make Instagram enjoyable again!

What are your thoughts on Instagram lately? Do you have any tips that have helped you enjoy the app more lately? Also if you feel like giving me a follow on Instagram you can check me out HERE! :)