I’m saying goodbye to Instagram.
The time has come. Being on social media, specifically Instagram, comes with pros and cons. For me, I’ve decided the negatives outweigh the positives and I’ll no longer be posting anything to the @mostlycloudypaperco account.
I ditched my personal account almost 7 years ago, when my son was 6 months old and I realized that my motherhood experience didn’t match what I was seeing on social media. Things felt messy, stressful, isolating and, quite honestly, depressing. I knew that a ‘quick fix’ for some of these feelings was to cut out Instagram and sensor myself from images that looked perfect, happier, and, most likely, filtered. It was liberating. I freed up time in my life, parented the way i wanted to (in a messy, chaotic house!), and after about a month of deleting Instagram, I did not miss it. I actually felt more connected to my own life and most importantly, my own values.
When i launched my Instagram account for my business, I thought things would feel different. I decided to follow and interact with other small businesses and many within my own sphere of work. Alas, here I am 7 years later feeling a lot of the same feelings I felt in my personal life. Unless I could somehow put magical blinders on (kudos to you if you can, you’re amazing), I couldn't see how any amount of posting, doom-scrolling or habitual opening of the app could ever start feeling healthy. I don’t feel like conquering the algorithm, I can’t prevent myself from comparing myself to others, and I certainly do not have the time to create content and take magical pictures.
One of the main focuses in my business is to foster connection and a sense of community. I have connected, genuinely, with people through Instagram, but I know that I can do this just the same (if not way better) through email and my newsletter.
So, here goes! I’m saying goodbye to my Instagram account on September 30. It’ll stay up, but I won’t be checking it and I won’t be posting to it.
Here’s to less time scrolling and more time writing and connecting. Love you all!