I hate Instagram but I need it for work. Help!

Our elder reassures a letter writer who finds it hard to cope with social media.

Dear EWC

I deleted Instagram at the beginning of the year because it was detrimental to me. I felt great and like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. But because of an acting job (I didn’t get it because I didn’t have enough followers) I needed to re download it. so I got the app last night and at first everything was fine. Posted two pics and I was OK. But I woke up this morning and saw that my pics only got eight and three likes and I instantly started crying. Like, I was a mess (what a way to start a morning). I despise social media like I really hate it with all my heart. I don’t like crying every time I post a pic and it gets x amount of likes. I hate it so much that I feel embarrassed that I have x amount of followers. What I really need is for someone to tell me it’s OK to not have social media or that I don’t need it. I have iFunny and VSCO and Snapchat and those three apps were really enough for me. I hate Instagram and Twitter’s OK. I just need some help with this situation because I already have mental health problems and this isn’t helping. P.S. my mom said she’d run the account for me but it’s just a lot.

Papa-Smokey replies

Many things in life have trade offs with benefits and detriments. You mention that despite despising social media and specifically Instagram you went back on and wound up feeling miserable again. You need to consider whether the benefit you’re getting from Instagram is worth the heartache it’s causing you. You mention there are some other social apps you’re on that don’t seem to have the same negative impact as Instagram. You also mention that Twitter’s OK. I know some people on Twitter that have developed huge followings so perhaps you should focus more on that or other social apps that don’t have an ill effect on you.

I hope these suggestions are helpful. Good luck!

Letter #: 458364
Category: Career