The Vibes on Instagram are Treacherous and Here's 3 Reasons Why

'How to delete instagram account' is my top search often and the thought sits comfortably at the brim of my mind. Every time I open instagram, a little voice inside of me is asking "how do i delete an instagram account" more specifically, how do I delete my instagram account?  

Living without instagram seems like a utopia in comparison to remaining connected to people that we should have disconnected from long ago. With an increase in META and data farming, I wonder if social media is still a place for us to share and connect with others freely. 

Instagram must be amongst the list of worst social media apps out there, which is unfortunate because when it was first developed, Instagram served as a method to remain connected to friends and family, similar to Facebook. Now, social media feels less social and more like the only way to stay connected to people within our immediate sphere. We rarely talk about the negative impacts of instagram and the dangers of instagram for adults. Here are a three inferences as to why we believe the vibes on Instagram are treacherous and living without instagram feels ideal. 

Let the stragglers go: people you should have disconnected from ages ago still have access to you 

Many of us have followers from high school, elementary school, preschool, old coworkers, old flings, and failed talking stages. There are people that we should have left behind, but somehow we are bringing them along for a journey that they should have lost access to long ago. There are also those that live by the philosophy of "letting my haters see me win", but that mentality might be counterproductive and holding you back. With Instagram, we are consumed by follower counters and likes. Instagram runs on engagement and when your followers are intentionally not engaging with your content, this can hinder your comfortability with sharing aspects about yourself that are authentic. There are people who will not miss a story, but will scroll past your posts. The negative impacts of instagram unfortunately can impact your self-esteem, forcing people to compare, suppress, and create false identities to appease others and the algorithm. Go where you are loved and appreciated! Get rid of the stragglers and post that sandwich that you loved. Remember when people would post food with those deep-fried filters on Instagram? That's the instagram I miss!

Did I consent to this: There are countless uses for Instagram, but you opt into an unofficial dating app, Linkedin, Facebook, WebMD, and class reunion all combined every time you open the Instagram app:

Picture this, you just did your makeup perfectly, I mean face BEAT down, you even pass the flash test. You know you look goodt and you feel compelled to share your beauty with the world. You post with the intention to share without expectations, but somehow that action invited unsolicited DMs, heart-eyes, and often times vulgar remarks. There are those that want and long for the attention, but then there are others who want to post freely without objectification.  

Many of us utilize Instagram as a method to document our lives, somewhat like a virtual time capsule. However, there are other users who have different ideas. Instagram for them is a dating app. 

Then there are the pseudo instagram doctors and professionals that knowingly provide misinformation. The vibes are clashing and there is minimal space for imperfection. Once upon a time we only interacted with our followers, now we rarely see the content from our followers! 

The social culture of Instagram is not rooted in community, but pay-per-view at the palm of your hand 

There are those that utilize Instagram as a job and means to pay their bills and then there are those who just want to vibe! In the words of Joseline Hernandez, "can I live? I mean WTF!" The shift from consumer, to commodification of the human and human experience was a gradual one, but we are navigating the ramifications of the change and negative impacts of instagram currently. When we wanted to escape reality we would watch a movie or TV show, now we tune into the lives on complete strangers. The parasocial interactions have convinced us that we are close to people that we have never seen before. We seen this briefly with celebrity culture, but the everyday person can become an "influencer" overnight through virality. 

When the Tik Tok Ban began, never once did we consider moving to Instagram full-time. Moments before the official Tik Tok ban, we posted a photo thread titled: Life after deletion: how to continue to grow and heal outside of Tik Tok. Within the post we provided our Tik Tok community with tips to navigate life post the ban. For many of us, social media was our way to cope with the pandemic and build community amidst such an isolating global event. Social media served as that vessel, but it's important to return to our roots. Roots related to connecting with people authentically, being creative, and sharing freely, and unfortunately Instagram is no longer a safe space for that.