Why I'm quitting Instagram

It's March and winter is slowly coming to an end. Aren't we all hugely looking forward to Spring with its longer days, sunshine and new growth?

For me, this past winter has been a season where I took the time to rest and did things slowly. And it was also a period of reflection, introspection and hibernation. For quite some time now, I'm struggling with Instagram. After much thought and consideration, I finally decided to quit. In this blogpost I'd like to explain you the reasons why.

But first I want to thank everyone who followed me, liked my work or took the time to react or write me. I really enjoyed all your support!

Why did I start with Instagram?

The main reason was that I felt I had to be present there, like everyone else was, if my business wanted to thrive in this digital world. For me, Insta was mostly ‘I should do this’, rather than ‘I desire to do this'. It felt like it was a necessity in the online space. This maybe sounds like I didn't like it at all these past years, which is of course not the case. I got to know some lovely people and I got the chance to share my botanical stories with the world. And I enjoyed taking pictures and writing about my life and porcelain creations.

Gradually, I noticed some kind of pressure and expectations. To take beautiful and interesting pictures, to post more often, to check Insta more and be online, … And of course it felt great when people liked my posts. But as we all know, these tiny squares only show a small part of our lives. These little windows on our lives, taken from the best angle and in the right composition, don't tell everything.

Why am I quitting Instagram?

I want to connect with real life and what's meaningful for me

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your wild and precious life?”

This quote by Mary Oliver offers an important question. I only have one life and I want to live it to the fullest and bloom where I'm planted. I don't feel like Instagram is the right place for me to being able to do this. I want to live a sustainable and healthy life where's space for creativity, stillness, nature, real connections and freedom. In my view, we're living a life that's far from how it's intended. I long for spending more time in nature and a deeper connection with the seasonal year instead of living life behind a screen.

I don't want to constantly share my life as a selling point for my business. I want to be phone free and don't want to feel the need to share it or reflect about how and what to photograph for a next post (or feed, as so accurately described by Instagram itself).This is the reason why I quitted Stories some time ago. I felt my mind and thoughts were too occupied by it and I wasn't genuinely living in the moment. Please don't get me wrong, this is only my opinion about it. This surely doesn't have to be the case for you.

I don't want to participate or add to the scrolling culture and this constant need for feed

I don't want to create fleeting content at the expense of resting, creating, spending time with friends and family or being in nature. I want to connect with life and my loved ones without knowing what so many other people are doing. Even though I didn't follow that many accounts, it's still overwhelming and barely added something to my life. As a high sensitive person I really have to take care about myself.

If we're honest, most popularised social medias are designed to be addictive, taking us out of our own bodies, wisdom, capacities and deeper connection to life. This approval we get from the likes and followers gives a false feeling of self-esteem. I'm sensitive for it and I don't want Instagram define who I am.

It's not supportive for my creative work, business or mental health

On Instagram you need to be consistent if you want to be successful as a creator. I feel like there's too much pressure to post. I don't think the creative process is consistent at all. It has its seasons and it needs space. My work, my inspiration and even I, changes throughout the years. I don't want an algorithm to be my boss or determine how I should create.

How will I continue?

I still love sharing glimpses of my life, work and creation process. But I want to do this at my own pace, not dictated by algorithms or anyone else. This blog is my safe place to do so. It will allow me to write more in depth and to share hopefully interesting and meaningful stories with you. For me, it's a slower and more intentional platform where one doesn't need to rush or endlessly scroll. You can read my posts when it suits you; make yourself a cup of tea and taking little sips while slowly reading and maybe taking a break once in a while to ponder the words.

I intend to write more often in this space and I'm working on a serie of blogposts about my life as a high-sensitive artist and how the seasons affect my work and life. You can also expect some posts about my garden, beauty and poetry, days in my studio, porcelain creations, travels, my time as an artist in residence in Cornwall (in May) and much more.

I really hope you will come back here and will be inspired!