Why I archived my Instagram
“Sasha, what happened to your Instagram? So you don’t do illustration anymore?” - frankly I was quite angry and upset to hear that.
We got so accustomed to the fact that Instagram is an essential part of being an illustrator, that deleting the app equals (for some people) committing professional hara-kiri.
In this post I explain why I closed down my professional account on this platform and why it doesn’t mean I’ve stopped being an artist.
I started my Instagram back in 2015 when it was a cool space to be a creative, look for inspiration, share your own art and find passionate artists to follow.
In 2016 I started posting short video lessons about graphic language & composition limited to 1 minute each - that was the maximum length to post back then. I called it Graphics Easy. I was recording and posting every Monday and Wednesday for more than a year. And this is how I gained my first followers and friends on this platform.
I remember 2018 when “draw it in your style” became a thing and I had the experience of joining a big great online flash mob for the first time. We followed each other, reshared our art and made friends.
Inspired, I organised my own artistic challenge called Illustrator’s catch up! That was a time of coming up with unique hashtags for your projects and #illustratorschatchup is still used to this day, long after the initial challenge kicked it off.
I hosted Illustrator’s Catch Up twice, the second one in early 2019. This time I even made a series of live streams with illustrators who joined the challenge - from Ukraine, US, Netherlands, France and Germany. It was fun!
Meanwhile the amount of Instagram users was growing:
Even more though, the revenues of Meta company were growing:
By the end of 2022 you would see the ads even when scrolling through someone’s feed. So now when I want to look at the works of an illustrator I admire I also have to consume vacuum cleaners, hair straighteners & lingerie.
In 2015 posting twice a week was considered a lot, in 2023 posting twice a day is not enough.
As a cherry on top came profiles filled with AI generated illustrations and photographs. Instagram for me used to be the place where there's a person behind every image, with their story of how they first picked up a camera, or how they draw on the evenings and weekends after work to pursue their dream of being an artist. It’s getting harder and harder to see them behind endless reel remakes, AI profiles and ads.
Once I took a course on Instagram and the advice that has stayed with me was “know what you need it for” or “what for” in short.
By January 2023 I arrived to a point when my “what for” for Instagram I had became too insignificant compared to a price of spent time and energy I had to pay every day of using it. At the same time it’s crystal clear what Instagram needs me for. For my buying choices, for harvesting my data, for getting richer by trying to sell me things I don’t need.
Instagram definitely was a big part of my artistic exploration, trying new things and becoming who I am today. But it’s a creative tool no longer, it’s now a marketing tool. I’m continuing my journey as a creative happily and lightly without it. 3 months after I closed my account I haven’t had a single doubt or itch to get back. I have more time to get to portfolio updates and I keep social by meeting creatives face to face at our Creative Coffee & Chat meetings.
So Instagram - I thank you for the good times and this is my goodbye!
