I recently read this article about instagram in The Atlantic. The article talks about about how having an aesthetically pleasing, curated, instagram feed is officially out of fashion. It explains that younger influencers are moving towards a messier, less filtered vibe on instagram. Gone are the days of doing it for the ‘gram and heading to some pink wall to snap some cutesy photos. Which for the record, I’m totes guilty of doing on multiple occasions…
Why I think this change is a good thing:
Reading that article got me thinking A LOT about instagram and the pressure to have a gorgeous, cohesive instagram feed in order to be successful as a content creator. I love writing and sharing content but I’m definitely not some instagram model. Because of this I’m excited to hear that younger influencers are moving away from having super curated feeds.
I love realness and authenticity. And to me super edited, super posed images are don’t feel as real and rarely feel authentic. It’s like the realness gets polished out in the process.
I’ll be honest, to some extent I’m sick of seeing overly filtered and posed images on instagram. I’d rather see you actually sweating in your workout clothes talking about the bombass SoulCycle class you just took… not just posing in the outfit all cute with perfect hair. And for the record I know I’m totally guilty of doing this!
I also hope this change will inspire more people to share their stories and be influential. You don’t have to have a perfectly curated, aesthetically pleasing, feed in order to do so.
But I’m also torn:
I do think there’s something to be said about having an aesthetic on instagram. It’s part of your branding and gives people a clue about who you are and your vibe. For me I focus a lot on turquoises, pinks and other light pastels for a bright feed. Posting things that are super dark and moody just don’t feel like me and my brand on instagram. At this point in time I also think people make snap judgements about whether or not they want to follow you based on the vibe they get from your feed and if it’s cute.
Giving myself permission to break up with my aesthetic (briefly)
While I was traveling in England and Ireland I posted to instagram almost every day. I did it for me more so than anyone 😂 and wanted these posts to be little diary entries in essence about where I was and what I did that day.
Some days I felt this odd sense of panic that I didn’t have a photo from that day that fit into my instagram aesthetic. It sounds SO silly, but it is something I think about. I’m always avoiding intense reds or yellows. I don’t love the color green on my feed. Mostly I try to stick to turquoises, pinks and blacks. Also… I’m wearing the same damn puffer jacket in just about every photo I took in Europe. I’m definitely NOT a fashion blogger.
It might sound dumb, but reading that article about instagram aesthetics gave me permission to say “Fuck it!” and post whatever made me happy. That meant posting (omg!) the color RED and YELLOW on my feed. Blasphemy, I know. To me it felt silly to not post to my instagram just because I didn’t have a picture that fit my aesthetic or felt “on brand.”
I’ll admit, I’m now back to my usual ways. Turquoises, pinks and blacks. But I’m curious to see if more and more influencers and content creators start adopting this less aesthetically pleasing, highly curated approach to instagram in the future as well.
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Your Turn: What are you thoughts about having a super curated instagram feed? Do you think this trend is a thing of the past?
girrrrl i am SO glad you shared this!! it’s definitely an interesting thing to think about and i know i’m guilty of overthinking my grid, so i’m kind of excited for this new authentic movement. i’m also just glad you were able to post what you wanted while you were away! the point of instagram in my mind is that it should be FUN, and it sounds like it was for you 🙂
I really really really hope the article is right, and it’s not just a thing for new cool super young influencers 😂
I won’t follow accounts that are filled with professional / perfectly posed pictures. Most “influencers” go on and on about how they are ‘just like everyone else”, so “genuine” and “real”. They then proceed to only post perfectly curated pictures which have nothing to do with real life, it’s disingenuous and frankly very off putting. If people want to post pretty pictures only that’s fine, just don’t pretend it’s something it’s not.