Is Instagram damaging your mental health?

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Hi! Sometimes I like to write, just for the sake of writing. This is one of those posts. I had the urge to have a bit of a rant about Instagram, and this is the word vomit that came out.

If you like posts like this, check out my travel journal, or the posts below.

• I’m Removing Toxic People From My Life: July 2022 Life Update
• Why I Started a Travel Blog (& What Keeps Me Going)

Highlight reels or real life?

Is it just me, or does Instagram sometimes make you want to cry in a box in a corner and never come out again?

Like seriously, the number of times I’ve had to shut down the app just because my anxiety has plummeted to a new level.

I can’t count the times I’ve compared myself to a girl who looks like she’s been carved by angels swimming in turquoise water in the Maldives.

Then I look in the mirror with my 3-day unwashed hair, baggy jumper and streaky fake tan and realise that girl, is never going to be me.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some days that I spend half my hours scrolling through ‘friends’ I haven’t seen in years or ‘influencers’ wanting to sell me the latest concoction that’s going to make my teeth sparkle.

But how much of it is affecting my mental health? And more importantly, how much of it is real?

I struggle to think that some of the highlight reels we see from travel Instagrams are as good as it seems. How can your life be that perfect ALL of the time?

How come you’ve never nearly been kidnapped in Thailand or had a near-death experience with a crocodile? 

Moving away from being ‘perfect’

Starting a travel blog, there has always been pressure to be as perfect as the influencers you see online.

And that’s hard when you have a lifestyle as disastrous as mine! How on earth do I portray myself to be perfect online when my life is far from it? 

We are constantly bombarded with unrealistic, fake and perfect photos online, every single day.

Even on Tik Tok, I find myself watching ridiculously beautiful videos of locations around the world, making me think my latest trip to Wales in a wooden cabin wasn’t enough. 

Over the past year or so, there has been a rise in content creators trying to be more authentic.

And I truly take my hat off to them. The ones who show ‘real life’, flaws, without the picture-perfect homes and travel lifestyles, and they’re the ones I want to see.

Authenticity, my friend, that’s where the goodness on Instagram is. 

But what I’ve heard time and time again is how authenticity kills your engagement. Haven’t posted a photo that’s perfect from every angle?

That’s a few thousand fewer followers.

Messed up with a caption that doesn’t fit the algorithm?

That’s customers gone for you.

Comparison is the thief of joy

Instagram has become a place where everyone aims to play the game correctly, rather than sharing photos for the love of sharing photos. It’s become more business than pleasure (anyone want to bring back Piczo?)

It becomes hard to believe in yourself.

But it’s so important to remember that no one’s life is as perfect as they make it out to be on Instagram.

And remember;

Comparison is the thief of joy.

And I’m saying this to myself, not just to you. 

You’re enough, no matter what you’re Instagram feed looks like

It’s hard though. It’s hard when you’re going through a bad patch and you love eating cheese and you don’t have enough money to stay in a floating house in the Maldives.

But you’re enough.

And your little wooden glamping hut in Wales, is enough.

It may be hard to believe, but we’re all trying out best. 

I may not have a thigh gap or have taken the perfect shot on Everest wearing a yellow flowy ball gown, but I’m trying my best to live my best life.

And that is enough. 

But all I’m asking is – can we SEE a bit more of this on Instagram?

I’m sharing more of the real, authentic stuff

Can we have a bit more of the nitty-gritty, raw, real-life accounts on there? I’d love to see more of Jane or Bob or Fred going through the motions whilst travelling and being honest about it along the way.

I know there are a few out there, but I would love to see social media become a place where I’d be happy my future kids spent time on. 

Being a travel blogger, the Instagram game kind of comes hand in hand with the job.

But personally, I’ve never really been about the ‘influencer’ life (I tried being a weight-loss influencer a few years back, great for my mental health that was).

But for me, I’ve never wanted to be an ‘influencer’, and I’ll definitely never be sipping out of a coconut on a floating house in the Maldives (I’ll probably be getting knocked out by the coconut instead). 

So, I’m striving to share more of that on my blog, and eventually through my social media channels.

It’s daunting though, and I sometimes find myself thinking it would be easier to ‘fake-it’, and just show off the highlights in my life with pretty colours and filters.

But, that just isn’t me.

Authenticity and Instagram

So, let’s all work together to show some more authenticity on Instagram.

Let’s be that little bit more honest, that little bit less afraid. Even if it is scary doing so!

And the next time you’re doom-scrolling through your Instagram and want to gauge your own eyes out, remember, you’re not alone.

We’ve all been there. Because Instagram is a highlight reel. It’s not real life. 

Let’s focus on the culture, people and be present

Let’s look out for the bloggers and creators who share the REAL world.

No editing out of other tourists, no adding fake sunsets, no making an unrealistic expectation of a destination that can only be found behind your phone screen. 

Let’s focus on the cultures, the people, the history, the landscape, the real photography – warts and all. It’s exhausting trying to be someone you’re not. It’s pretty easy (and awesome) to just be yourself. 

So, here’s to being ourselves. Even if it does mess up the Instagram algorithm.

Do you have any authentic travel Instagrammers I should be following? Let me know in the comments below!

Happy travelling!

Jennie 😀 x

Check out my travel journal for more posts like this. I appreciate you!

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