Like my announcement last year, hearing this “news” will probably make several people reading this think, “Wait… She’s still on Instagram? I thought she left already.” And you’d basically be right. I’ve barely posted in the past year, and when I have it’s been mostly out of obligation. This is me making my decision official, drawing a line in the sand, and reminding my future self when I doubt this decision why it’s plainly clear in the present moment that it’s the right choice.
I’m sharing a few of my reasons here not because I feel like anyone is owed an explanation — I’m perfectly allowed to just not be on IG, no explanation necessary. I’m also not sharing persuasively, as though I think you should follow in my footsteps and share my convictions. In fact, this decision comes following a state of contrition regarding my lack of charity for others who love Instagram. My sharing is simply to:
Remind my future self, when it’s needed (as stated above),
To provide clarity about my choice should someone want it, either out of curiosity or concern, and
To provide a behind-the-scenes look at how I made my decision, should it be helpful to anyone else stuck in a similar conundrum.
My decision is not taken lightly. In fact, if you spent more than half an hour with me in the past 12+ months, you’ll most likely have heard me share my feelings about the app and how I was torn on what I should do. I’m not exaggerating when I say I finally found peace, true peace, about the steps I should take only last week during prayer. This is the first time, truly, I’ve felt completely sure that this is the right decision for me.
I first started by journaling, using good old-fashioned pen and paper. I asked myself the simple, innocuous question, “What are good reasons to be on Instagram?” I didn’t want to assume there weren’t any, and I wanted to be honest. If there were enough solid reasons to stay on the app, then case closed; there wasn’t any conundrum here.
I thought about it for a few minutes, then picked up my pen and began a list:
To grow my readership, especially this newsletter.
To promote my work, especially my books.
To keep in touch with people I like, especially those far away.
To discover visual artists and their work.
…This was where my list ended.
I genuinely couldn’t think of any other reasons. I tried. I don’t actually enjoy scrolling or posting on the app, so I don’t gain any personal pleasure by being in the space. My four reasons were all utilitarian: to grow my work and to stay in the loop. Two professional reasons; two personal. (Side note: my list of reasons would have been longer several years ago when both the app and I were in different stages.)
I next asked myself, “Is Instagram the only or best way to fulfill these reasons?” Honesty was a necessity here because my gut reaction was to say, “Of course not!”, light a match on the whole thing, and walk away in slow-motion, action movie-style. So I parked on this question for a while.
Eventually, I came to these conclusions regarding these four reasons:
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