From Twitter to Instagram to everything in between, the constant content production pouring out from every corner of the Internet is enough to make anyone’s head spin.
Don’t get me wrong—social media is great. Our exposure to countless people and ideas from all around the world will never cease to amaze me, and social media has undoubtedly accelerated some amazing progress throughout the years. However, as much as social media is a powerhouse for change and knowledge, it’s also home to a lot of chaos and stress.
The biggest representative of the devolution of social media is Instagram, the photo-and video-sharing platform with around one billion active users around the world.
Back in my day (aka when I created an Instagram account in 2013), social media was a place for self-expression, creativity and interacting with friends and family. The most of my worries was deciding which filter to use on the sunset picture I took on my iPod Touch.
I posted multiple times a week for years with little stress and, get this, actually enjoyed using the app.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. I now have nowhere near the same mindset around social media as I did in middle school and even high school.
If I even think about posting something on Instagram, I’m instantly filled with anxiety and dread. Call me overdramatic because it’s just a silly little app, but I know I’m not the only one conditioned to feel this way.
You don’t have to be particularly sensitive to how other people perceive you to notice how social media feeds off your insecurities and makes them part of the experience. Posting in 2021 versus, say, 2014 is such a different experience because it feels like everything you do online is disgustingly performative. It’s not about what you actually feel comfortable with posting; it’s about what you feel you should portray of yourself to the world.
As Instagram has become more popular and more corporate, it has slowly but surely become less “casual”—a change that’s drawn a lot of backlash.
I’m not the only person who wishes the app still had that unique, low-stress 2014 vibe. An environment where you don’t feel immense pressure to have a flawless feed. Where you don’t feel like everything has to be polished to be posted.
Instagram seems to blatantly ignore what a large number of its users want, as was made painfully evident with the recent addition of a full-blown shopping service built into the app. As if most everyone’s posts didn’t already feel painstakingly manufactured, it’s now explicitly clear that the app cares more about bringing in money than fostering a chill atmosphere to share life updates and interests with friends.
I say we push back and run with the #MakeInstagramCasualAgain sentiment like never before. I’m talking a blatant and unapologetic rejection of pristine-looking feeds and organized story highlights. Not only would this eliminate a lot of stress from the posting equation, but it would also be so nostalgic. I want to rekindle a time when I didn’t need makeup and a complimentary filter to put my face on my own Instagram.
I’m not proposing an outright rejection of all thoughtful and aesthetically pleasing posts; I’m just a strong supporter of making the app feel more authentic by whatever means necessary. In other words, whatever it takes to stop overthinking the brightness, saturation and cropping of all my posts.
From uploading more spontaneous pet photos to completely reverting to 2014 Instagram standards, let it be known that I’m an avid supporter of making the app as casual and as comfortable as possible.
I think we could all benefit from less daily stress, and Instagram seems like a nice place to start. As your first assignment, I encourage everyone reading to post a wholesome picture of your coffee tomorrow morning.
Emily Davison is a 20-year-old anthropology and English junior from Denham Springs.