Warning: We’re all adults here but I have to warn ya’ll – offensive language will be used…..aka curse words.

If you follow me in the gram, you know I haven’t really been active this summer, or this year for that matter. 

I started the year wanting to grow my following, do photoshoots, all that IG blogger stuff and I quickly realized nah, it’s not my cup of tea and stopped “showing up” and quit Instagram.

Because of my profession, It’s hard for me to stay off Instagram, so yea I was still there, but wasn’t engaging and posting much. 

Aside from a post here and there and a few stories, I really weaned off Instagram for the following reasons.

Social Pressure

I’m not a cool cat, I don’t go out every night and I don’t buy expensive flashy things, and when I do, I don’t post about it. 

Being in influencer marketing I see the pressure and fakeness of it all and I HATE IT! Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my career! I love helping brands and people that love creating (and do it for the right reasons) but idk, I just can’t deal with the constant pressure of trying to look cooler than the next profile. 

Mentally DRAINING

All the planning, creating and trying to perfect a feed is fucking exhausting! You’re never good enough. 

No matter how good you think your content is, how many followers you have, how many brand collaborations, whatever. IT ALL MEANS NOTHING IF YOU’RE LIVING FOR VALIDATION. 

Call me lame but I rather live by my own means than have to rely on anyone else for approval (followers or brands). No thank you. 

Instagram is A DAMN LIE

There are so many feeds that are just lies.

People going into debt trying to be an influencer, joining engagement groups trying to “beat the algorithm”……here’s the thing….BRANDS CAN TELL WHEN YOU FAKE ENGAGEMENT. And if you didn’t know, engagement groups are considered fake engagement. Newsflash, if it didn’t come authentically, and you manipulate the post in any way, IT’S FAKE.

You know those Facebook groups you join that say “must follow admin”….yeah, those are bullshit and so are the moderators who manipulate you for a few extra followers and likes.

Mind you, I work in this field and I’m part of a lot of these groups and as soon as I see a moderator that says “must follow to participate” byeee Felicia no paid collaborations for you. 

Can you tell I’m passionate about this ahaha

Low Self Esteem

If you know me in real life you’re probably like wtf. 

Yeah, ya girl has low self-esteem from time to time and all that competition and chasing perfection I was talking about is not good for anyone’s mental health. 

So naturally, I said, fuck the bullshit and just completely stopped focusing on the app. 

Instagram Is Not My Passion

Instagram sucks. There I said it. It’s pretty much high school online…..and I hated high school. There are jocks (sports celebs), drama/theater kids (actors, actresses, models), bullies (trolls), cool kids (influencers), and the goths are the goths but for some reason, they are cool now lol, and everything else you can think of lol

But really, some people like to shoot and create visually aesthetic content and I prefer to write. Thus this blog was born. I’m also super camera shy so my IG modeling career is out the door. 

On top of all that, I don’t see a reason to focus on an app that can go away at any moment (and it stays going down). At least focusing on the blog, I know I OWN the content and if something goes wrong, that’s on me.

Negativity Nancies

So there was a point when I was ACTUALLY trying to grow. I joined engagement groups (how I know shit is fake), I did all those growth strategies (hashtag, follow/unfollow) and grew a bit. 

I then found a few networks that worked with small influencers and bloggers and got a few paid campaigns. Yes girl, paid. Not much, I think the highest one I got was $25 but that’s extra cash I wasn’t planning on. 

Then one day, I was minding my own biz at home and woke up to a DM from a sweet and awesome influencer telling me that I had a fan. I was like wtf and clicked the link that led me to the Facebook group. 

A girl pretty much dragged my IG on a Facebook group and said she couldn’t believe I had paid campaigns with a small following and she had like 2K+. Salty much. I knew it was no biggie but I DID feel personally attacked. Was it my best work? No, it wasn’t, but my style isn’t for everyone and she could’ve just kept it moving instead of adding a link to my account so people could go and see my page and the (“unprofessional”) image I was paid for. 

Naturally, I commented on the post and she ended up editing it to take off my link and seem less salty. 

Needless to say, I don’t have time for competition or negativity. I’m all for everyone winning and this was the last straw for me. That’s the moment I decided to quit Instagram.

From then on I started staying off IG for anything other than my job and to scout. 

What Now?

Recently I decided to start posting again. This time for myself. From now on I’ll only post images for me and not so brands can look at me or influencers can be like “why her.” I’ll promote my blog here and there but mostly I want to use my IG as a happy, educational escape from the rest. No competition, no faking it. 

My content will be authentic, real, and positive as I’m naturally an optimistic person. I’ll be posting a mix of silly story polls to help you destress along with tips to just be a happier noodle. 

In the last few posts I’ve done, I’ve lost more followers and I couldn’t be any happier. I don’t want or need negative energies around me or my image. 

If you’re on the same wavelength as me and want to follow my new journey as I try to be a better, happier version of myself – feel free to follow me! Tell me you read the blog so I can follow back! I always love following people who support me.

Other Babes Leaving Instagram

I Gave Up Instagram: Here’s Why You Should, Too

The Problem with Instagram in 2018 (& Why I Quit)

Five Reasons Why I Quit Instagram And Don’t Regret It

Why I’m Leaving Instagram Indefinitely

Why I’ve Stopped Trying To Grow My Instagram & What I’m Doing Instead

Have you quit Instagram or thought about quitting too? What are your thoughts on staying off the platform? Leave me a comment with your thoughts/experiences!