Instagram can and has helped so many youngsters make money, real money !

Instagram gave me a platform to express myself unlike any other platform since MySpace and Skyblog.

Although I’ve always loved blogging, Instagram gave “documenting” a whole new meaning: documenting through real life pictures.

I grew up in a family that wasn’t very artistic.

I barely have any pictures from my childhood. My parents had an old camera but only used it for special occasions.

As such, I was never really exposed to photography till my teen years.

But then shit CLICKED ! It clicked instantly !

When I got my first phone, I took pictures of everything ! I loved following my friends around with a camera at hand, I loved macro photography, printing photos and drawing over them (yeah, weird) etc.

I used to post lots of pictures on Hi5 and Skyblog. Captioning was also super fun for me back then !

Facebook also brought the best out of me. I got my first proper camera, a Nikon 7200D or something in 2010 and it was a game changer !

Instagram wasn’t around back then, but you could feel something was cooking in that sense, cause Facebook just wasn’t cutting it for photographers.

Fast forward a couple of years, I opened my IG and the rest is just wild !

At some point I was posting twice to three times a day !

Instant gratification is a crazy phenom’ dawg !

I just LOVED the feeling of sharing pictures of my travels with people. I loved the likes, the comments. I simply loved the fact something I created was appreciated by people I’ve never met in my life.

A creator’s high is addictive.

Instagram has evolved a lot throughout the years. The rise of stories and DMs was also a whole different ball game.

The ephemeral side of IG stories is what made them so special.

2016/2017 was the season in which I posted the most. I was posting 5 to 6 stories plus 1 to 2 posts A DAY ! I used to spend so many hours editing, coming up with captions and taking pictures.

It was a fun time I ain’t even gon’ front !

I enjoyed the heck out of it, but it was draining, and not just physically.

It’s mentally draining to be constantly seeking instant gratification and compliments, it fucks with your mental health HEAVY.

So I took a big break from it all in 2018.

At first it was supposed to be temporary, but then I just lost the need for validation. I learned how to enjoy life on the sidelines, how to be alone.

A friend of mine once summed up my mindset perfectly. He said “vivons bien, vivons cachés“, which roughly translates to “to lived happily requires one to keep things private”, or “secluded life is the happiest” (English proverb).

Thanks Luc !

Instagram is such a powerful tool if you know how to use it to your advantage. Don’t waste it !