The slowest break-up of all time, pt. 2
dissecting my deteriorating relationship with Instagram
Scrolling through my Instagram feed to track the ebbs and flows of my relationship with the platform has been at times cringey, at other times sweet and nostalgic. I like having a digital scrapbook to remind me of the bits and pieces of my life, my home, and my reading that I decided to share with the wider world. It’s also a great professional time capsule, capturing various projects like He Read She Read and Novel Pairings from inception to development to now.
If you haven’t read Part One of my Instagram Break-Up series, Start Here.
From what I can remember, I was content with my presence on Instagram following our cross country move. This was pre-Reels, so sharing photos and stories still held primary place of honor on the app. In stories, I shared a little bit about my life as an adjunct professor—a job I was proud of and happy to talk about online. On my photo feed, I shared what I was reading, and I shared photos from our travels.
Instagram was still Instagram. Although I’m sure creators were griping about “the algorithm” and other changes, overall, it was still a place to share slice of life content and photos. There was an air of possibility for creators with a small following to grow into something larger. I didn’t have any aspirations of becoming a capital “I” Influencer (a basically impossible feat for a Bookstagrammer, anyway), but for whatever reason—momentum or a competitive streak or the addictive nature of the app itself, I felt motivated to post about every other day.
On February 7th 2020, I posted a cute picture of myself with one of the NYPL lions. The caption reads: “Caught a cold in NYC, but it was worth it because I saw Patience and Fortitude IN PERSON and told them they're doing such a great job guarding the library and looking majestic.”
LOL.
It was not a cold. It was covid.