4.07.2014

Instagram "Don'ts"

Now, let's talk about Instagram. Lately, it has become my favorite, FAVORITE social channel. I love peeking at the daily goings-on of my friends and the brands I like. But.

But...

There are a few things that make me hit the unfollow button quicker than you can say "cheese". Now, I'm sure I'm guilty of a few of these myself from time-to-time, but for some, it's an everyday occurrence. In no particular order, here are some of the things that irk me to no end:

1. A paragraph of hashtags. When you have to take out an entirely separate comment from the caption and designate it for a blooming paragraph of hashtags, you need to stop. Seriously. I find myself scrolling down through 85 hashtags with ANY and EVERY possible word that might have something (and that's a giant "might"), just to leave a comment. 

Example: Someone posts a photo of a burrito with the caption "YUM!" 

Below it:
#burrito #mexifood #yum #yummy #yummyyummy #cheese #beans #glutenfree #paleo #ilovepaleo #myfavoritecolorisblue #theplateisblue #dogs #rocketscience #love #ChuckNorris #iforgotwhatImtalkingabout

Get my drift?

One or two, maybe even three hashtags? Okay. More than that? Quit. 

2. Tap my pic and I might tell you where I got my shirt. I'm fine and great with the Like to Know It thing. Pretty handy, in fact. I've even used it myself a few times to track down pieces I like. But there are bloggers who will flat out refuse to tell you where they got a piece of clothing unless you tap their photo. What happened to the olden days where we all just interacted with each other without trying to send someone over to an affiliate site? Just tell me where I can get pants like yours. Or don't. I'll track them down myself, thanks.

3. My coffee is better than yours. And so is my handwriting. And I'm going to show you. The whole trend of taking a photo of your coffee, posed next to your open journal with calligraphy scrawled on its pages, posed next to a vase of hydrangeas, posed next to a bunch of pointless knick-knacks in the background, like a J.Crew scarf, (because I love to keep my scarves at the ready when I journal and drink coffee...???) 

And the caption usually reads a little something like, "Brainstorming a few ideas this morning. So blessed." Huh?

I beg of you, WHO has time for this in the mornings???? Do these people have jobs?? Children?? Bills to pay?? Places to be??

So strange and so, so redundant.

4. Videos taken while driving down the road.  I saw a while-driving Instagram video recently where the girl talked about getting a speeding/hazardous driving ticket just two nights before. Yes, you read that correctly. She was taking an Instagram video while she was driving, simultaneously telling us about her bad driving.

For the sake of the rest of us on the road, please stop. 

.......................................

Alright, I'm dying to hear yours. What bugs the mess out of you in Instagram world lately? Any of yours similar to mine?

41 comments:

  1. This is perfect. TOTALLY agree with these. Oh, and I'm totally okay with the selfie phenomenon, just not every other photo. And especially not if you're JUST wanting to show off your cleavage. Instagram keeps us entertained, doesn't it??

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  2. HAHA!! These are great Leslie!!

    I completely agree with the styled photos... I know there is no way anyone has that much time in the morning, why pretend! :)

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  3. This is amazing...especially 3 and 4. Some of the organization bloggers (who I do love dearly), spend so much time taking a picture of their journal, with perfect pens (spray painted caps gold so they're more beautiful), and their Kate Spade whatever, and Mercedes keys all in the perfectly lit shot...

    ...what are you missing in your REAL life when you're staging your perfect one?

    ..end of rant. :)

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  4. I could not agree more. I can't imagine taking the time to put together something so elaborate just to convey to my friends that I am drinking coffee! The hashtags drive me CRAZY!

    www.loveandclothing.com

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  5. Haha I loved this list and 100% agree! The selfie thing can sometimes get to me. I don't mind selfies from time to time, but posting a picture of your face multiple times a day doing the duck lips thing is a little excessive!

    XOXO
    Chelsea
    http://www.anchorsaweighblog.com/

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  6. #3 is so spot on I almost can't stand it. Like, who has time for that?!?! And everyone's pictures look exactly the same!! Truly, drives me crazy.

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  7. Can we also add "taking pictures of your, ahem, assets, but pretending like it's a picture of something else" to the list? Example: Picture that is all about that cleavage but caption reads, "I am really loving my new eye shadow from Sephora."

    Wait, what? eye shadow?!

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  8. I have laughed throughout this whole post, because I SO agree! :) haha!!

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  9. hahaaha! I love this! We are all guilty of taking redundant photos every now and again but I completely agree with you on these!! #getalife

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  10. Ok, so now I feel awful that I'm going to say this and I really hope my friend doesn't read this blog, but she's a hashtag abuser! On a piece of turkey breast there was 27 and on a quote 29!!! Do those #'s send is to the abyss or something?! I only use them when it's for a wedding, fundraiser, or event. #overkill ;)

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  11. It bugs me that a majority of the random photos (on the popular page for example) all seem to be of 12 - maybe 14- year old kids. It's annoying and I would not want my daughter posting that many pictures of herself online - not to mention the multitude of nasty comments that are usually attached to these pictures.

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  12. This is my first time commenting on your blog posts. But I couldn't resist. This was just too good to pass up! It seems like 80 percent of the people I follow do the same exact things! Drives me crazy. Especially when you like something they're wearing or an item in their home and you ask where they purchased it and... NOTHING! No response, no NOTHING! I don't understand. Anyways, thanks for sharing. I feel much better now.

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  13. This is great! The styled photos make me feel like such a loser sometimes but then I remember that I have a real job with kids and a hubby. I don't have time to practice my handwriting when I'm chasing kids around!!

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  14. Perfection! I recently unfollowed several accounts because of #3. So fake!

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  15. All of these things. YES. Your hastag paragraph... #idie. ;)

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  16. Number 3....HAHAHAH! Love this..and so, so true! I love the "#ootn" and they are wearing heels, dresses, etc. that I would wear to a wedding! I am thinking, "Where are you going on a nightly basis that requires Loubs and a dress?"

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  17. AMEN!!!!! I AGREE TO ALL OF THESE!

    Especially having to double tap to find out where you can get the pants etc. It's just plain ole rudeness!!

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  18. AMEN!!! and the most annoying - the people that don't show their faces- VERY annoying... Why have a public profile that is not public.. Most of them are braggers anyway which is also annoying.. Now I am fired up ha ha

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  19. My hubs and I were just talking last night about IG pet peeves! He and I both agreed that ours is when people go on trips and post approximately 1,001 pictures while they are supposed to be enjoying this new, fun place. I will admit, I like posting pics from my destination city as much as the next gal, but come on? What I always think when I see that is, "All of these pictures telling me how awesome your trip is really just tells me that you are bored and aren't really enjoying anything so you are spending the entire time on social media." Ugh!

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  20. Ha! I agree with all of these, especially #1! The liketkit thing is getting old, too.

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  21. I think this is one of my favorite posts of yours, lol! Mostly because I agree with every single point you made. Especially the stylized posts. I mean really, even if you don't have children, jobs, places to be, etc., WHY does one feel the need to perfectly pose a set-up like that? So overdone. So trite. So silly. Ugh. And the affiliate sites? So annoying. I'm all for helping fellow bloggers make a bit of money here and there. But not on every. single. thing. I mean, if you're trying to make a business of blogging/IG, be up front about it and say it so that everyone knows. If not, don't try to sneakily make me click on everything. Rude. Anyways, love this today, sweet girl!

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  22. this is so funny!!! Could not agree more with all of them!! But the one that gets me are the very cute ladies in their very cute outfit of the day.....every.single.day. With their hair blowing either in the wind or in their face. But at least they do mention where they purchases all of their cute clothes:)

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  23. These are so spot on. So funny and true, especially number 3. I'm lucky to find a sharpie marker to make a grocery list, much less have a beautiful journal with glitter and beautiful quotes made with 25 different colored pens.

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  24. Selfies kill me!! I mean I'm all for a good selfie every once in a while but I have friends who will post multiple selfies in a day. And the angle at which you take these selfies aren't really the best!! Ha!

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  25. I agree with you on every single one of these! The people that post countless pictures back-to-back drive me nuts, too. Really, who has time to be taking pictures and posting them all day, every day.

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  26. The posed instagrams are kind of getting out of control. I understand that everyone likes pretty things but ARE YOU A REAL PERSON? That is what I would like to ask sometimes. #soblessed #JustAnAverageMorning #IWokeUpThisWay #NoReally #TheLightWasPerfectAndThisAnthroTeaCupWithItsLatteArtWasJustWaitingForMe #DidIMentionThisCroissantOnThisAnthroInspiredPlateIsWarm #YOLO ;)

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  27. i am DYING laughing about the journal, handwriting, blessed picture...AMEN!!!!

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  28. #you #totally #nailed #it ;)

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  29. Oh my gosh, I love this so much. I've been wanting to write one of these for a while, and you totally nailed it! #i #can't #stand #the #obsessive #hashtags. Or the perfectly styled coffee cup...get a life, people!! Another thing I can't stand is when people post 204 pictures in a row...sorry, but I will not like ALL of your posts! Maybe make a collage or pick 1 or 2!??!

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  30. Calling everything a selfie would be on my list. I see people take a picture with a dog and write #selfie. Did that dog take a photo of himself?!? I don't think he did.

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  31. Amen sister. Amen.

    #2. The "Like it" is way annoying, and kinda rude if you think about it. "Click here so I get money because you like my shoes". Sweet.

    #3. I'm all about my coffee-but i'm usually drinking it while i'm folding laundry, emailing, working, etc. Thats real-not posed my friend.

    xoxox

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  32. Love! Sometimes I feel like you read my mind!

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  33. I hadn't even heard of the "like it to know it" system...ha, guess I'm a little out of the loop!

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  34. this post cracked me up ----sooooooo true! xo

    http://allthingsprettyandlittle.blogspot.com/

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  35. I can't stand when people take a picture of their "OMG look what color my nails are today" when it actuality, they only want people to comment on their engagement/wedding rings.

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  36. OH MY...#1 and #3 --- the hashtags and the staged pictures!!! I work full time and understand being a stay at home Mom is more than full time, but really? Those pictures seemed so contrived. I adore your style of writing and love all your pics----and your baby is precious too! :)

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  37. People who constantly photograph their food. Stop. Please. And I agree wholeheartedly on the hashtag especially long ones like: #icantstandlonghashtagsbutimpassiveagressivesoinsteadofjustsayigitimgoingtoruneverywordtogether. Please.

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  38. I'm sorry. I know people love their kids but I don't want to see 30 photos of them doing every single thing in one day.

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  39. Love this! What is the "like to know it" thing? I have not heard of this. Love that last one about the driving video hahaha!

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