I remember first creating my Instagram account back in elementary school. I recall spending years posting pictures of just about anything on that account. A picture of my softball uniform laid out on my bedroom floor—sure, why not? An overly-filtered photo of some flowers on a beach—the more vibrant the better. A blurry picture of my friends and I making silly faces—pretty much a necessity on my Instagram account.
Back then, no one really cared what anyone was posting. If I saw something cute or funny, I took a picture and put it up for my friends to see. I wasn’t yet thinking about followers or the amount of likes I might get. I was just having fun posting pictures that made me happy.
Then around the end of middle school, something shifted. Suddenly I was no longer posting pictures featuring my drawings or silly selfies with my friends. Instead, I was worrying about how others might perceive my photos. I began to feel like I could only post pictures from cool events that featured my friends. It felt like if I posted too many selfies or nature photos in a row, then people might unfollow me or not like my posts anymore.
For me, Instagram was no longer a fun place to post pictures I liked. It semmed to have become an app full of comparison and overthinking. Whenever I went to post a picture, I would scrutinize it, wondering if it was “good enough,” or if it would match my feed. I would recognize how bizarre it was to be thinking about whether a picture featuring me smiling and having fun could possibly not be “good enough” for Instagram, but those feelings were there nonetheless.
Then something shifted again.
A little over a year ago, I began seeing #makeinstagramcasualagain on some old classmates’ posts. People were slowly beginning to post “casual” photos once more. Rather than going months without posting, people were posting weekly with pictures of their pets, scenic views, lunches, and more. People were utilizing the story feature to post spontaneous pictures of their lives, as well as to participate in fun prompts that help their followers get to know them.
I had thought that the days of casually posting on Instagram were gone for good, but I am so happy to see them returning now. I love seeing my friends post their collages of little moments that made them happy, and the daily updates from old classmates studying abroad are always fun to swipe through.
Seeing people I follow being excited to share photo dumps of moments that made them happy makes me feel inspired to do the same once more. I haven’t posted much on my Instagram account over the past few years, but I actually want to again.
I have so many pictures of pretty sunsets, good books, and cute outfits I want to post. I also have plenty of photos that capture myself smiling and feeling happy that I have yet to post, mainly because I was previously worried about the imperfections people might notice in them. Now though, I am realizing that if a photo makes me happy or features me feeling good, then it is already beautiful enough to post.
I want to start playing my part in making Instagram casual again, and I hope this trend of posting “imperfect” photos continues for years to come. This trend has allowed people to be themselves online without having to worry about sharing a flawless persona- and I think it has been a great change to the world of social media. I can’t wait to partake in it and let my own Instagram be casual once more.