The Influence of Instagram
Did you know there are 800 million users on the gram? I’m sure you’re probably one of them right? Maybe you’re even two of them because you’ve got multiple accounts? We’ve talked about the gram on here before and you can read some of those other posts here. I love instagram. I love that it can cultivate creativity and community, it reminds us to capture photos, it can give people a voice, and ultimately turn us all into influencers.
Something God has been teaching me lately about instagram in light of eternity is… get ready for it… IT DOESN’T MATTER. God isn’t going to say, “well done good and faithful servant your follower count was well over (insert desired amount here).” Our following, the number of posts, how many brands reach out to us, how many likes or comments we get, keeping our aesthetic consistent, getting featured… it doesn’t matter.
When God shared that little nugget of truth with me I was stressing over content. I was getting annoyed when it seemed like people were copying my captions or my photos. I spent more money on presets to try and find the right aesthetic while keeping things trendy. I would get in arguments with Fabian when he would take a photo for me but it wasn’t what I had pictured in my head. It was becoming exhausting and keeping it real… it was effecting our marriage.
In a world where we are all influencers (believe it or not), the influence of instagram was really stealing my joy, it was effecting my character, it consumed my conversations, and y’all you can ask Fabian but, it made me moody. The creativity that was once behind a photo or the insta-moment that just needed to be captured was stealing real life moments and memories from me. The pressure to continue to grow a community, to be authentically me, to share but not over share, to be vulnerable, to even buy clothes specifically because I knew they would edit and fit into an aesthetic…. y’all this is who I was. And hard truth… this is who we are when we let the instagram influence us.
I think if millennials were to create a translation of the bible then John 17:24 might read a little something like, “I loved you before your instagram was pretty.” And ironically John 17 is titled, “Jesus’ Prayer for His Followers” When you get a chance, read that whole chapter but filter it through the world we live in now, a world consumed with the desire to influence.
God gave me a hard check and I had to make a change in my attitude when it comes time to hit that share button. Yes, the aesthetic is still there, and as always the posts are real, vulnerable, and authentically me. They aren’t thirsty for a following and they aren’t causing arguments in our house anymore. If something isn’t captured to share on the gram, it’s ok. My iphone isn’t going to heaven with me.
Are you being influenced when you get caught up in the scroll? Does the desire to influence and do it for the gram effect your character, your budget, or cause you frustration? Let’s talk about it!