Dear Diary: Why I love to hate Instagram.

Whilst flicking through my 19 pictures of my overpriced coffee, deciding which had the better lighting, I found myself thinking, when did I succumb to this bollocks? Excuse my french, it's a touchy subject. I decided to ponder why, why do we bother?
​I hope this post comes across to you, how I read it in my head, light hearted and certainly over exaggerated (there were really only 15 coffee pictures to choose from). Please don't take it too seriously. 

How to know your a little addicted to the "gram"

Unfortunately for me, I think referring to it as  "the gram" is the first sign to say you're on the road to addiction.... 
Other than that here are a few other tendencies I've noticed myself picking up, whether they are good or bad, I will leave that to you, but I can't deny it, I do them.

1. Asking someone to move to get the shot - who wants to see your boyfriends hairy arm in the background?
Sorry girls, don't drink your cocktails just yet, at least not until I've got a picture of them together. Ooh hang on, better take one from above to.

2. You get excited to hit refresh after posting and watch the likes roll in, only to be disheartened when you've only had 3. Followed by frantically deciding you don't care anymore, you give up. Until an hour later when you find a great shot in your camera roll that you must post immediately.

3 .Worrying about content before the content exists: Going to an event knowing fully well the PR will expect you to post from the event, worrying beforehand, will the lighting be good? Will the displays be Instagram worthy? Are the cocktails going to be served in fancy glasses decorated with flowers? Are there marble floors?

4. Whitening those shots. I often saw bloggers stood in corners at events vigorously rubbing their phones to the point  I thought the friction might cause a health & safety fire hazard. Was there a new addictive game I was missing? Are they bidding for that Zara Bag everyone's after on Depop? No, they were just using Face tune's Teeth Whitening Tool to whiten their pictures. Pfft, who would have time to do that? it looks bloody knackering. 
​Me. I do. I have time for that. Yupp I succumbed to it, downloaded the app and now I can't get enough of making my pictures whiter than white. 
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5. Worrying about not posting enough/posting too much. Often I find myself annoyed that I've missed a few days of posting, and looking at others feeds thinking how the hell do they create such amazing content every single day? (another sign is calling your photos *content* - they aren't they're just photographs).  

I'm not quite at the stage of standing on chairs in restaurants to get a good food flat-lay, but I guess I have that to come, right?

"Comparison Is The Thief Of Joy"

If we continue to compare ourselves to others, this is where we begin to become obsessive and often disheartened. This quote can cover all scenarios, staring at girls in magazines, others bikini bods on holiday but in terms of Instagram - lets face it, in your opinion, someone is ALWAYS going to have a better Flat-lay than you, a more Instagram-able (yes that's a word now) cocktail (why didn't mine come with a real edible flower?) or a cuter pet that seems to naturally pose for pictures? (How do they make their dog pout?) It's a given!
The moral of the story is, who cares! Who cares if they have an amazing Marble kitchen they can do product shots in? Go buy a slab of marble!  Who cares if they can use a Chanel Handbag as a prob - good for them, they worked darn hard for it and If I had a Chanel bag I'd bloody Instagram it to death to, Rather than "hating" on peoples feeds who you see as better than yours, or worrying to much that you don't think yours is or ever will be good enough, be inspired by them, take note & continue with your own individuality until you feel content with your own personal style. You are amazing! 

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But...

We can't deny the power of it, Instagram really has taken over.
I mean, there are literally people who have the job title "Full Time Instagrammer" - they make a living from it, it really is amazing! Who'd have thought this a few years back when we would literally post any random bollocks without a second thought.
It has become a powerful marketing tool for brands, a wonderful platform for "celebs" to connect with fans and a great way for bloggers to promote themselves through perfectly placed images.
​And obviously for people who use it for personal use, a great way of creating memories which you can look back on in chronological order, whenever you like. Remember that time we were drinking cocktails on that pier? Yup, Its on my Instagram. Can you remember when we saw that adorable dog? Yup, Instagram. When we got a selfie with Beyonce at her concert. Instagram (I wish that last one was real). It's like a photo storybook where all your memories are in one place.

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We also can't deny that it can be quite fun, I love laying out my new in Beauty products into the perfect flat-lay. I love ordering pretty cocktails which create fabulous images. I love adding props to make my photographs that bit more interesting. In no way are we claiming to have the fabulous marble, spotless life seen in our Instagram pictures, but like Hayley from Tea Party Beauty said in this post on her blog, who wants to see photographs of us in bed on a Sunday morning we toast crumbs surrounding us & hair that needs a good tangle teez? No-one! (fabulous post by the way Hayley).

Instagram has also led me to love a rewarding hobby, photography. I now look back at old pictures and gasp at how awful I used to be. This not only applies to my beauty flat lays & lipstick pictures, but also in life. I now come back from my holidays and look through my photographs proud of some of the shots I have taken, allowing me to have wonderful memories of my trips which can last forever. 

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"It's like seeing your child in their first sports day"

You simply can't deny that little smirk you gain when you get a good shot - the excitment of being able to post a photograph you are proud of, and thinking how perfect background for my theme and oh my god shut up.
Or the wonderful feeling you get when you see your feed looking aesthetically pleasing, and feeling proud, a bit like the proudness a mother would feel after seeing their child in their first sports day - go you, you did it.

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In all seriousness though, it's not all bad is it? Its not hurting anyone, and lets face it, it gives me something to do anyway. So for now I will stick at it & continue to buy those expensive coffees and beautiful looking cocktails with the flowers ( (there I go again with the cocktail flowers, they do look good though, right?), because why the hell not!

How do you feel about Instagram? Are you a little addicted?
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A bit of shameless self promo...

Also whilst I'm on the subject, I may as well do a little shameless promotion.. If you aren't already come and say HEY on Instagramwww.instagram.com/asyouwishuk 

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