Living an Instagram-able Life

June 30, 2018 in - 4 min read

I have seen quite a number of friends, bloggers and Tweets from Twitter complaining or more accurately moaning about Instagram. I have friends who have stopped using Insta and know bloggers who are constantly taking Insta breaks because this social media platform is too much hey. People concern themselves too much about living an ‘Instagram-worthy’ life – the perfect life, the good life, the look-at-me-I’m-amazing life.

Instagram is the boujee platform and its rich people who have made it seem that way, now people like us who aren’t part of the elite feel no sense of belonging when it comes to Instagram because it’s like the private school of social media platforms. But listen, I have said this once too many times, we compare our lives with people’s online content and by the looks of things, no one on social media has a horrible life simply because people post what they want us to see and not their whole life.

You start feeling intimidated by people who are your age or even younger than you but are ‘living the life’. You know what the problem is? You are probably following the wrong people. Let me tell you about the people I follow – 1. Friends and family, 2. Small bloggers like me, 3. Aesthetics pages and 4. Magazines. These are people and things that matter to me, I only follow 5 celebrities (Beyoncé, Zendaya, Lauryn Hill, Bonang and Simphiwe Dana) and I don’t care about those people who call themselves ‘influencers’ with 20k+ followers, I have no reason to follow them, they don’t inspire me in any way. Approximately 80% of the people I follow have 1k or less followers. I follow people who are living their lives without trying to impress us, people who make me laugh, who respond to comments and people who also don’t think Instagram is just for the rich.

Social media platforms are there for us to express ourselves, to share moments which made us happy, to post about what we love and what we are doing. Here is the problem with social media, it has the power to completely suck you in and when you are immersed in it, it will be hard for you to get out. Don’t allow yourself to get too attached to social media, especially Instagram. I am one of those people who are usually on Instagram and I post stories and upload pictures regularly too but I have never felt like it has taken over my life. Let me tell you what I do, which will probably work for you too… I normally set a schedule – I schedule when I should post stories and when to post on my page. This gives people the illusion that I am always on Instagram when I’m actually not and this will work perfectly for people with blogs because as a blogger you have to stay active on social media to promote your blogs.

I am active on all my social media accounts (besides Facebook because I am low-key over it and finding it a liiiiittle lame) and I stay active because I schedule my social media time and I suggest you try that out to avoid being attached. Remember, it’s your life man, post what you want to post, sometimes life is great and sometimes it’s not so great – if you went to the Bahamas by chance and you enjoyed it then post it, if you are having a regular day at home watching cartoons post it, why do you care so much about what people think? Do you boo, just do you.

Let’s make use of the social media platforms that are created for us. The point is to have fun guys, not to catch feelings and get depressed from what we see. Your life is Instagram-able the way it is, show us and don’t be ashamed. You worry too much, you worry about if you will get likes, followers or comments, well I’m here to tell you this… Nobody cares about what you do and it’s up to you to think about that negatively or positively. If you choose the positive route, then do whatever you want to do, however you want to do it and whenever you want to do it.

Also, I am super excited for this new Instagram video app called IGTV. It is almost like a YouTube channel but your videos are limited to 1 hour (which is actually long enough right). It is already available on Play Store and I find this so funny because lately I have been having thinking of posting videos here on my blog and then I found out about this. YASS! I will be posting videos from now (but not yet) so keep your eye on my IGTV channel, but also, I am looking forward to seeing you post too.

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That’s it for now.

16 Comments

  • Lewington_Katie September 15, 2018 at

    I love your posts, and your attitude! Instagram is just a giant Billboard. I never know what’s real, or if the person is trying to sell something anymore! I remember when social media was a tool people used to share stuff, and connect with people around the world. Now people are permanently glued to their screens. Balance is everything.

    • Mbalenhle September 25, 2018 at

      I know right! The whole idea of social media has drastically changed over the years and it’s actually hard to say whether it’s all good or all bad, it all comes down to the users themselves and how they want to see it. Although some people cannot even see the negative effect it has on them

  • Deshi Nenkinan Nehemiah July 20, 2018 at

    Hit the nail on the head! The sudden hatred for Instagram and posts about avoiding social media are unnecessary. It can be used well and wisely. I’m taking inspiration from you. Well-done Mbalenhle

  • Jheelam July 3, 2018 at

    So wisely written. I, too, am getting rid of celebs I follow on Insta one-by-one. Besides, I beleive we obssess over “celeb culture” too much and the advent of social media fanning it out of proportion.
    Not getting swayed over by “their” lifestyle is a hard task and I applaud you for this shout out. 🙂

    • Mbalenhle July 5, 2018 at

      It’s like everyone wants to get noticed, even if they don’t have anything worth our attention. It’s something we really have to unlearn. Thank you so much for stopping by 💕

  • kiracanadiangirl July 2, 2018 at

    It’s all about who you follow on Insta. I try not to look at the home page as there are a lot of posts there that can make you feel inferior. I interact with a lot of photographers and bloggers on there and have met some pretty awesome people. You just have to engage!

    • Mbalenhle July 5, 2018 at

      Engaging is one of the main purposes of social media and we really have to use this privilege to communicate with everyone around the world💫

  • Infinite Living June 30, 2018 at

    Very well said! I enjoyed your entire post, it is very important to balance our purpose on social media and its influence on us. It so can suck one in and make one feel lost.

    • Mbalenhle July 5, 2018 at

      Yes, we really have to make sure we don’t get attached otherwise we’ll lose ourselves 💕

  • Chandra Lynn June 30, 2018 at

    Agreed. I use FB, Twitter and IG. IG is where I socialize most.

  • Dani Kay June 29, 2018 at

    Great points!!

  • onyeka June 29, 2018 at

    So much truth in this!!

  • Beauty and the Being June 29, 2018 at

    Love this post! ❤️

    Ankita
    http://www.beautyandthebeing.com

  • seaofwordsx June 29, 2018 at

    Love this post ❤ You are just so right! Social media is here for us to have fun. I like to follow people who inspire me and not make me feel bad about myself. I love to be authentic and post the good and the bad.

    • Mbalenhle July 5, 2018 at

      Yess! That’s what it’s all about – following people who inspire us in some way💕. Authenticity is so important in order to keep sane

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    About Me

    About Me

    Hi and welcome! My name is Mbalenhle K but everyone calls me Mbali for short (say: mm-bah-lee). I am a freelance copywriter who loves all things art, experiences and aesthetics (big time Pinterest gworl 🧚🏽)! I am the founder of Budding Regardless where I talk about mindfulness, self-development and self-nurturing for creatives. Read More

    Mbalenhle K.

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