Why I Left Instagram: My Insights
For some people, answering the question of leaving Instagram is a "who cares?" deal. At least I'm here to be transparent.
Instagram was one of the biggest platforms to promote my picture work. I joined Instagram around 2017 or so. Many of my digital content and various other pictures were shared on Instagram with my friends. Some people whom I've known on Instagram are those who I've only known on Instagram and not available on other social media platforms. When I eventually left Instagram, it felt like I would lose certain people seemingly forever. While I didn't like doing this, I felt like I had to leave Instagram due to a number of issues. Even some famous personalities and some celebrities have announced leaving certain social media platforms for any number of reasons.
One thing I felt bad about was that instead of sharing a post with my thanks to my many Instagram supporters, I just simply left. Maybe I was drawn to one person who simply said, "who cares if you leave Instagram?" I probably took it to heart rather than tell all interested parties in my decision to leave Instagram. Granted I am not very popular anywhere (including blogging), I at least want to feel important in the eyes of others because people do enjoy my work.
Why I Left Instagram: Reasons
Now on to the main reasons why I left Instagram. Take a look:
Experiences.
Of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; I've had some of the least satisfying experiences on Instagram. I've dealt with a handful of idiots, trolls, and spammers trying to flirt with me. This is more than I endured on Facebook since 2007 or on Twitter since 2009. There were loads of times where I would encounter someone who wanted to "share messages" with me. Most of the time, they were suspicious links. I even complimented on a car that I liked online when someone was like, "nobody asked you!" I think I once mentioned someone being courageous in seeing a curvy/plus-size fashionista in either a swimsuit or lingerie. It was taken in a negative context; and so to prevent any further roasting, I deleted my comment. I felt like I drew more criticism in interaction on Instagram than with some other social networking sites.Instagram Ecosystem.
I believe Instagram was made for mobile devices to use and share material with. While you can still use a standard computer, IG was made for mobile devices. Having said that, uploading material from PC was a bit of a hassle if you do not have certain extensions for browsers. I ended up using an extension for Vivaldi and various Chrome browsers to upload pictures and videos. Sad thing was that I had to use the JPG format to upload from browser. That means no PNG files. Also, I don't think I could upload a set of pictures on PC for one Instagram post through a web browser.I learned you could have your Instagram profile suspended or have certain features disabled if you send too many "likes" or post too many comments in a short amount of time. I also learned that no one profile can follow more than 7,500 Instagram profiles, so you will have to let go of different profiles you do not follow much of anymore.
If you are going to be mostly exclusive to or recommend picture/video sharing be done through mobile devices, fine. Just please have other ways to share content if we don't have access to mobile devices. Make those non-mobile options viable and useful as if using a mobile device.
The Sharing Experience.
You can not use Instagram posts to link to certain websites. Instead, you mostly have to go from the profile's linked page from the bio. I felt this sort of took away from properly promoting certain material or expressing certain points. I am a blogger, and a lot of what I do involves promoting some of my blog posts and other material. Not having direct links that can be accessed in posts does not help in the promotion department.Security Issues.
While I never got hacked on Instagram, there have been times where I would often have my account blocked due to some sort of security issues I was unaware of. When these security issues became more frequent, that is when I became more compelled to leave Instagram. It came to a point where I have begun to loathe being a part of Instagram any longer. Then too, part of these issues maybe came from accessing certain websites posted in Instagram profiles. Not sure if it was mostly Linktree or anything.So because of these issues, they mostly were the driving force for me leaving Instagram. Now you may know more as to why I left Instagram.
Why I Left Instagram: Aftermath and Second Thoughts?
As a result of leaving Instagram, I felt like I have lost contact with certain individuals whom I only encountered with or mostly know on Instagram. I am someone who values EVERYONE who interacts with my material. So I feel like loyal fans of my work may have been lost forever. On the other hand, it is a chance to maintain bonds with people elsewhere or meet new people elsewhere. I felt like I acted among myself to prematurely leave Instagram rather than offer my support to my loyal Instagram followers, but I felt I needed to leave the fairly toxic realm of Instagram before I let it take me over.
When I left Instagram, I felt like my biggest platform for sharing pictures was taken away from me. I made Instagram work for me for the time I've been a part of it. I found a way to be motivated to share pictures on it to share with friends, fans, and even some of my family who were on Instagram. Leaving Instagram only took that liberty away from me.
I felt at one point wanting to make a second Instagram profile only to promote digital content I hoped to sell online. Yes- returning to Instagram as a business profile was what I had in mind. However, because of my less than satisfied experience, that probably will not happen. So rather than give Instagram another chance, I decided to retire myself from Instagram.
Instagram Alternatives?
When I looked up alternatives for Instagram, I was looking at Vero after seeing some recommendations. However, I don't think Vero is as versatile as Instagram, though many see it is a great alternative to Instagram. I don't think I have an Android device I could use for its app. I tried Flickr, and it was only recently I got to get my Flickr accessed again. I have not much interest in using Photobucket or imgur. And no way in Heaven or Hell am I joining TikTok or Snapchat.Unless I see something convincing, I feel I'll remain happy to leave Instagram and simply not have any proper medium to share my pictures besides Facebook and Twitter. I respect Instagram as a social networking medium. I am just disappointed with my experience to where I felt leaving was the best thing to do.
To Any People Who Followed Me on Instagram...
I am thankful to have been part of Instagram for as long as I have. It does feel bad to no longer feel connected to or be part of Instagram, but I felt I had to leave it thanks to a number of different factors. I can always be found elsewhere on social media and through blogging. So please try to stay with me elsewhere, and I hope I can continue providing great content for you all.Could I Return to Instagram?
Immediate future? No. Somewhere down the line? Possibly. I've had one too many poor experiences and overall dissatisfaction to even think about returning. Even I had my qualms of joining Twitter, but Twitter worked out for me (and still does). There is just too much for me to even remotely consider a return to Instagram. If I do return to Instagram, it will mostly be as a Business Profile to promote some digital content rather than use it for digital content and personal pictures. I will let you know if I change my mind on Instagram.Now that I've broken my silence and explained myself, that is the end of this blog post. I am again sorry I didn't do anything to say, "thank you for your support, but I will leave Instagram." At least now you know why I left Instagram. Don't leave my blogging work, though! Subscribe/Follow if you enjoy my work! Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.
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