{"id":63904,"date":"2017-08-26T22:47:13","date_gmt":"2017-08-27T05:47:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=63904"},"modified":"2018-03-22T22:52:03","modified_gmt":"2018-03-23T05:52:03","slug":"why-i-am-anti-instagram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2017\/08\/26\/why-i-am-anti-instagram\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I am Anti-Instagram"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Eric<\/p>\n

If you like Instagram please please please, keep using it.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Instagram has empowered a lot of photographers and artists. After all, it is free, allows you to get feedback, followers, and connect with other artists.<\/p>\n

But, I am personally anti-Instagram, and let me outline why<\/em> I am anti-Instagram, and why I deleted it.<\/p>\n

\n

ACCESS<\/h2>\n

Reference material: WHY I DELETED MY INSTAGTAM<\/a><\/p>\n

DOWNLOAD PDF: WHY I AM ANTI-INSTAGRAM<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

First of all, let me outline my ideas.<\/p>\n

1. Instagram is an advertising platform<\/h2>\n
\"Cindy
Cindy in Yukata and cup of tea in Ryokan. Uji, Kyoto 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not be fooled. The ultimate point of Instagram isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t to promote your work as an artist. It is to make money off advertising.<\/p>\n

They essentially make money off you.<\/p>\n

How?<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. You upload a picture to Instagram (or any social network)<\/li>\n
  2. People scroll through their news feed, and like your picture, and follow you.<\/li>\n
  3. Your follower likes you and your work, and therefore becomes addicted to keep using the Instagram platform.<\/li>\n
  4. The longer and more frequently your follower uses Instagram, the more advertisements can be fed into his or her stream of images.<\/li>\n
  5. The more advertisements your follower sees, the more likely they are to click on an advertisement.<\/li>\n
  6. When your follower clicks on an advertisement, Facebook (who owns Instagram, and bought them for $1 billion dollars), makes money.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In this whole thing, you didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t earn a single penny.<\/p>\n

    \"Cindy
    Cindy picture of ERIC sleeping in Ryokan. Uji, Kyoto 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Of course, you can get arbitrary things like \u00e2\u20ac\u0153exposure\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153recognition\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Or perhaps, you might advertise your own products on your Instagram, and make money that way. Or perhaps someone will click on your biography link, and see your website.<\/p>\n

    But the ultimate downside\u00ef\u00bc\u0161You are building your own castle on a sand platform of Facebook. You don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t \u00e2\u20ac\u0153own\u00e2\u20ac\u009d your Instagram profile. At any given moment, if Facebook or Instagram changes their policies, they can delete your Instagram and all that work you put in, will magically vanish.<\/p>\n

    \"Coin
    Coin Laundry. Uji, Kyoto 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    You have no \u00e2\u20ac\u009dequity\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in Instagram. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like my mom, she worked at a sushi restaurant and slaved away there for nearly 10 years. She built up the business, their reputation, and brand. She trained other servers, and helped the business. But when she was \u00e2\u20ac\u0153let go\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d she was left with nothing. No signing off bonus, or check. No equity in the brand. She essentially wasted her last 10 years of her life, building the empire of her employer, but nothing for herself.<\/p>\n

    The same is for you. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re focusing all your efforts on a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Instagram strategy\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a sucker. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sorry.<\/p>\n

    The suggestion: make your own photography website, blog, or platform<\/a>. Use 1and1.com and WordPress.org. I use the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Genesis\u00e2\u20ac\u009d theme for WordPress which is very good.<\/p>\n

    \"Eric<\/p>\n

    From 2010-2017 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve made at least 2,800+ posts and climbed to #1 on Google<\/a>. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve benefitted a lot personally. I am now quite wealthy (Cindy and I earn over $200,000 USD a year) and it isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m popular on social media… it is because this blog (ERIC KIM BLOG) is popular, influential, and has a lot of information and knowledge on nearly everything Photography.<\/p>\n

    2. Instagram is not indexed by Google; it is a closed platform<\/h2>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m very pro-Google. Why? They are an open architecture network.<\/p>\n

    I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m anti Instagram and Facebook, because it is a closed system.<\/p>\n

    Which means, more or less, you must have an account to best utilize Instagram and Facebook. If you upload a picture to Instagram or Facebook, it cannot be \u00e2\u20ac\u0153crawled\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by Google or other search engine spiders, so therefore it cannot be indexed by the internet.<\/p>\n

    3. No easy way to export your images<\/h2>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    As of writing this in 2017, there is no way you can \u00e2\u20ac\u0153mass export\u00e2\u20ac\u009d all of your images. This makes Instagram very bad. Why? They store all your personal memories and images, and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re kind of a prisoner to their platform.<\/p>\n

    4. Death of the photo essay<\/h2>\n
    \"Ryokan
    Ryokan with Cindy. Uji, Kyoto 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    There are no more real innovative ways to tell stories, or essays in photography via Instagram. It still favors the single \u00e2\u20ac\u0153clickable\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Image. You can make image sets now, but realistically, nobody uses it.<\/p>\n

    To make a truly great picture story or essay, examine the old pages of LIFE MAGAZINE. See how text, captions, prose, and different layout images made for a more engaging story.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Now, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re all suckers for the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153single image\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. And there is little poetry in a single image.<\/p>\n

    Could Homer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Iliad or Odyssey be written with a single verse?<\/p>\n

    Could you appreciate Harry Potter with only one word, sentence, or even chapter?<\/p>\n

    Could you enjoy a film with only one scene?<\/p>\n

    \"Uji,
    Uji, 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    5. We are controlled by the will to maximize our \u00e2\u20ac\u0153like\u00e2\u20ac\u009d number<\/h2>\n
    \"Reflection
    Reflection of Cindy in Ukata in our Ryokan in Uji, Kyoto 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Instagram softly encourages us to betray our inner artistic vision by subtly encouraging us to upload and share pictures that will get a lot of likes.<\/p>\n

    That means, you will NOT upload an image that you think won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get a lot of likes.<\/p>\n

    That means, the same boring, generic, pictures that don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t offend anybody, and pictures that we already know gets a lot of likes.<\/p>\n

    \"Cindy
    Cindy diagonal composition with arms. Ricoh GR II with 28mm and flash, and ERIC KIM COLOR PRESET.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    For example, lots of pictures of sunsets, cute animals, cappuccinos, minimalist black and white symmetry shots, product pictures, pictures shot of hipster accessories from a high angle looking down, selfies and food, etc.<\/p>\n

    Who would want to upload a picture of suffering? Who will upload a picture of politically controversial images? Those pictures don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make people feel \u00e2\u20ac\u0153happy\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. It offends people. And social media is like this walled garden, where no \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bad feelings\u00e2\u20ac\u009d are allowed to exist.<\/p>\n

    \"Colorful<\/p>\n

    Therefore, repression of creativity.<\/p>\n

    6. Instagram fucks with our emotions<\/h2>\n
    \"Cindy
    Cindy with finger on forehead. On the patio of our ryokan in Uji, Kyoto 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Our brains have a bias called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153anchoring<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (I recommend the book THINKING FAST AND SLOW).<\/p>\n

    Essentially we \u00e2\u20ac\u0153anchor\u00e2\u20ac\u009d our self-worth to a number, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s say 100 likes for a picture. Then whenever we get anything less than 100 likes, we feel disappointed and sad. And when we get 100 likes exactly, we feel normal… it was \u00e2\u20ac\u0153expected\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. When we get more<\/em> than 100 likes, we feel excited, because we \u00e2\u20ac\u0153anchored\u00e2\u20ac\u009d our self-worth or value to the 100 like mark.<\/p>\n

    This is called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153crowd-sourcing your self-esteem<\/a>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

    \"Selfie.
    Selfie. Kyoto, 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    I know from personal experience. My life goal used to be to get 100 likes. When I achieved that, it was 200 likes. Then 300. Then 500 likes. Then 1,000 likes. Then 2,000 likes.<\/p>\n

    I could never satisfy my \u00e2\u20ac\u0153like\u00e2\u20ac\u009d urges. More likes were never enough<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \"Picture
    Picture shot from inside cab. Kyoto, 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    This happens with money. I earned $40,000 USD a year out of college, at age 22 which was awesome (better than my starving student days). But I soon made that my \u00e2\u20ac\u0153anchor\u00e2\u20ac\u009d… and when I saw my co-workers earning more than me (50k, 60k, 80k, 100k, 200k a year) I was envious. I wanted more money.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Even now, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve gone from being poor (my dad was a gambler, and gambled away the rent money, my mom worked minimum wage jobs as a waitress, nanny, cleaning houses to make ends meet, my mom filed for bankruptcy when we were a kid, I grew up on government discounted school lunches, etc) to now being wealthy ($200,000 USD+ combined yearly income with Cindy) and trust me, the money still isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t enough. I want more money, more power, wealth, influence. I want to make $400,000 a year. Then $800,000 a year. Then $1.5 million a year. Then $3 million a year. Then $10 million a year. Then $50 million a year. $100 million a year. Then $500 million a year. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll never stop until I become a billionaire, or trillionaire.<\/p>\n

    7. We compare our self-worth with others<\/h2>\n
    \"Cindy
    Cindy laughing at red shrine. Kyoto, 2017. Super low angle.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Anyways, the danger with social media and Instagram: we are always comparing our like and follower count with others.<\/p>\n

    No matter what though, there will always be someone with more likes or followers than you. And even if you have the most followers or likes on the entire internet, you will become ANXIOUS or fearful that someone will take your #1 spot.<\/strong> I once heard that billionaires were the most envious people.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    And I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve experienced this. I see other photographers on Instagram with more followers than me. And I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m like, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Why does that guy have more followers than me, when I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m<\/em> such a more talented photographer!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d It feels unfair. It feels like an injustice. But to be honest, that was me just having a loser-mentality.<\/p>\n

    The truth: someone with more followers than you is not more \u00e2\u20ac\u0153successful\u00e2\u20ac\u009d than you, they simply have more followers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \"Selfie<\/p>\n

    For example, they might just be more popular, or better at marketing themselves than you. Who knows, they might spend 3 hours a day on Instagram, commenting and liking a lot of pictures of others. Who knows, maybe they paid a company to get fake bots or fake accounts to follow them, to boost their follower count. Who knows, maybe they check their Instagram obsessively when having dinner with their family, and cares more for their follower count than spending quality time with their loved ones and friends?<\/p>\n

    \"MEMENTO
    MEMENTO MORI ARTWEAR<\/a> by ANNETTE KIM.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Anyways, apparently even super famous celebrities fall victim to Instagram. Rappers, musicians, singers, artists, actors, etc… compare their likes and follower numbers with everyone, all the time. Many of them get depressed.<\/p>\n

    Anyways, never put your self-worth in terms of your likes and follower counts.<\/p>\n

    \"Creative
    Creative Everyday by HAPTIC<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Rather, only judge your self-worth in terms of how you<\/em> feel about yourself<\/em> and your own pictures. Do your own pictures excite you? Or not?<\/p>\n

    Conclusion: Takeaway points<\/h2>\n

    \"Cindy<\/p>\n

    To sum up, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not telling you that Instagram is evil, bad, or whatever. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just trying to outline the reasons why I<\/em> (ERIC KIM) choose NOT to use Instagram.<\/p>\n

    1. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel obligated to use Instagram; you have free choice<\/h3>\n

    \"DOUBLE<\/p>\n

    Nobody is forcing you to use Instagram. If you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t wanna use it, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t use it. A lot of people say, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153YOU GOTTA BE ON INSTAGRAM!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ignore these folks. Many of the world\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most successful photographers do not use Instagram. It might be to their benefit.. fewer distractions.<\/p>\n

    If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re tired and fed up with Instagram, you can be like me and delete your Instagram. No, you won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t die. I feel this Zen-like sense of calm now, and actually am MORE motivated with my photography now. I make pictures for myself now.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Or, less extreme measure: delete all your pictures, and start from scratch. Or, unfollow everyone, and start from scratch.<\/p>\n

    2. If you can afford it, make your own photography website or blog<\/h3>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    I think Instagram is a very good platform if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re poor, and you have no other way to share your work. If you cannot afford $10 to make your own WordPress.org website or blog, please use Instagram. But if you can afford it, make your own website. You will have more control and flexibility.<\/p>\n

    3. Take a break from Instagram or social media<\/h3>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Maybe you just need a detox.<\/p>\n

    Homework assignment\u00ef\u00bc\u0161uninstall all social media apps from your phone (Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram) for a week, and see how it makes you feel. At the end of the week, reinstall the apps you like or miss.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    4. Use VSCO instead<\/h3>\n
    \"Kyoto
    Kyoto selfie. Processed with VSCO with a6 preset<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    I am a huge fan of VSCO. Much cleaner interface, and there is also a subscription option, which makes the platform free of annoying advertisements. Ditch Instagram and use VSCO instead.<\/p>\n

    \"ANNETTE
    ANNETTE KIM BLACK VAMPIRE LIPS. Kyoto, 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    5. Follow yourself<\/h3>\n
    \"My
    My sister Annette. Processed with VSCO with a6 preset. Shot on Google Nexus 6P<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    The most important person to please in your photography is yourself. Not your followers. You don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have any \u00e2\u20ac\u0153duty\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to your followers.<\/p>\n

    \"ERIC
    ERIC KIM ILLUSTRATION<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Follow yourself.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    BE STRONG,
    \nERIC<\/p>\n

    If you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like using social media, yet still want a place to share your favorite pictures, join ERIC KIM FORUM<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Further reading<\/h2>\n
    \"Cindy
    Cindy in Ryokan. Uji, Kyoto 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
      \n
    1. Photography Entrepreneurship 101<\/a><\/li>\n
    2. Personal Photography 101<\/a><\/li>\n
    3. Why I Deleted My Instagram<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      If you like Instagram please please please, keep using it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":63298,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_ek_photo_artist_note":"","_ek_photo_thesis":"","_ek_photo_camera":"","_ek_photo_place":"","_ek_photo_human_moment":"","_ek_photo_sequence":"","_ek_photo_question":"","_ek_photo_canonical_claim":"","_ek_photo_ai_summary":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-posts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/eric-kim-black-and-white-street-photography-hanoi-0012086-EYE-ERIC-1.jpg?fit=2000%2C1325&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63904"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80207,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63904\/revisions\/80207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}