In 2010, Instagram was released and became an instant success. I don't remember exactly when I made my first account, but I know during my senior year of high school, 2012-2013, I was posting up to three times a day. My posts really ranged. Some days it was just a quote I really liked, Taylor Swift song lyrics, my outfit of the day (OOTD), an occasional throwback Thursday (TBT), but more often, I posted a picture of my first boyfriend and love, Matt and I.
After we broke up, though, I slowly stopped using my account due to low self-esteem and sadness of old memories. I'm not sure if I ever really loved using Instagram, but I used it. Now, three years of being Instagramless, I have learned a lot about my lack of a relationship, with Instagram.
1. Everybody still uses Instagram.
For a while, I really thought Instagram would fade out like MySpace. I thought people would realize that Instagram served no purpose other than putting on a social media "face" and following others’ "faces" unless a person’s account was for self-marketing some skill like modeling or graphic design. However, I was wrong. Everybody still has Instagram. My mom has one. My friends from high school still have their five-year-old accounts. Even my boyfriend has one. Because everyone still has one, I pretty much do, too, because people upload photos with me in them and people see the photos. Regardless of my own Instagramlessness, I am still a part of Instagram.
2. I still creep.
Even though I don’t have an Instagram, knowing people who still do comes to my advantage. Because I don’t really have social media besides Facebook and Snapchat, I really don’t have a way to creep up on old boyfriends (yes, more than one) who have blocked me on other social media sites. Sure, it isn’t really healthy to creep, or be blocked for that matter; however, when I do feel the need to “check up on them,” it’s nice to still have access. For me, it’s less about looking at what I could have had or what should have been, but instead, reminding myself that the worry and love I had for them in the past, I don’t have to carry on anymore because they are just fine without me.
3. I miss it.
Although it’s been years since I’ve been an Instagrammer, I still miss it. Like any social media or trend, it can be somewhat of an addiction. Even though I can upload my pictures onto Facebook or my Snapchat story, there is something about Instagram that I can't replicate on another site. Maybe it’s from everybody still having Instagram and hearing “Oh, did you see that picture I uploaded on Instagram?” or, “did you see why she Insta-ed?” Sometimes, I think about making a new account and restarting my experience on the social medium, yet I never do.
So, a few boyfriends, Snapchats, likes and years later, I’m still Instagramless. I don’t know the most recent update, if my OOTD would get any likes or if my TBT is throwback enough, but I’m OK with that. I've got enough living to do without posting a selfie.
