Mysteries of Instagram

I discovered Snap Chat last year, and it's been fun, but out of all the social media outlets Instagram is still my favorite.  I enjoy the ease of interaction and it's also been really helpful to me on my fitness journey.  I joined a great fitness challenge, find inspiration, and discovered a protein powder I love.  It has also gotten me to buy clothes, but we won't talk specifics on that.  I originally just had one with my super secret blog handle, and now that they finally made it easier to toggle between accounts I made a personal one so I could follow friends and family.  It truly is like a time capsule of your life.   Sometimes I fall down the rabbit hole of my own posts just because it's fun to look back on old times.

I have always loved taking pictures, so sometimes I do try for the perfect staged Instagram shot.  I utilize filters.  I take way too many pictures of food and other things that may or may not get posted, but mainly I try to capture the moment.  I am just a regular old run of the mill Instagram user so there are some things I don't understand. 

A photo posted by Cece (@mahoganydrive) on
Are there really people out there who get to spend their entire lives traveling the world on a perpetual vacation?  Like how?  I wanna do that!!

How do some people post their first post one day and then have over 500 followers in a day?  Like how? They have to be buying followers right, but how does that even work?  Who are these people with gain 100 followers instantly in their bio and how did they get into the business of selling followers?  Third question.  Why is it that important?  Especially if you are not a business.  Who are you and why do you need 10k followers?

I get it, people love talented all star cheerleaders and dancers, but how do people get so many followers when they are not celebrity/professional athlete/singer songwriter/public figure type?  Some of them have more followers than Misty Copeland.  Who are they and why are they so interesting? 

What is up with those Insta accounts that have two posts and thousands of followers?  They don't post.  What exactly are you following? 

What is up with those Insta accounts that have four sexy pics and "I need a man for meetings...I'll way for you" in the profile?  What are the logistics of that? Are the pics fakes? Did match.com not work out?  What does she really want and why is she following me? 

How do people get so many selfies and videos at the gym? Personally, I find selfie taking in public kind of embarrassing.  I sneak them in every now and then, but I won't do it if anyone is around!

How do the fitspo girls learn to pose like that?  I get it.  Booty gains is really in right now, and the contortions put it on full display, but try as I might I cannot get my back and waist to contort without looking like I've turned into a statue and stopped breathing.  Mind you, I used to be a gymnast.

Why do people post porn on Instagram?  I found out the hard way while innocently searching hashtag #snapchat.

A photo posted by Cece (@mahoganydrive) on


Do people have personal photographers follow them around taking pictures?  They must!  I'm mostly reduced to selfies and candid shots are very few and far between...like maybe when I'm on vacation.

I realize there is this whole thing about having a theme for your Instagram, but how can someone maintain that for years and years on end?  I scrolled an Instagram account back to August 2015 just out of curiosity and aside from food and denim there were literally seven pictures that featured color outside of black, grey or white but the monochromatic theme, went back much further than that. Are those the only colors that you wear?  Do you systematically refrain from posting Instagram pics while you are wearing vibrant colors?  Themed Instagrams are pretty to look at, but it must take a lot of the Insta out of Instagram and it seems like a lot of work to keep it. 

What is this obsession with white white fur rugs and all white sheets?  I can't help but notice that the flowers, coffee, aviator sunglasses combo is very popular atop white rugs and in the passenger side seats of cars.  Do they really like Starbucks and fresh flowers that much or is it just for Instagram?

Why are so many Instagram accounts starting to look alike? See above.

Why is the list of hashtags on some posts a mile long and sometimes include hashtags that have nothing to do with the picture?  

Why post one picture in a collage of two or three pictures that are exactly the same.  I look for a difference, but nope.  The same exact picture.  

Lastly, how do people always manage to find a perfect brick wall (bonus if it's covered in really cool graffiti) to pose in front of.  I haven't seen any and if I did, I wouldn't have anyone to take a picture of me standing wistully in front of it!

Okay.  I think that covers it.  I have much to learn.

14 comments

  1. Isn't Instagram weird? Yet also so wonderful? I'm with you, it's my favourite social media outlet, yet there are things about it I will never understand. I honestly believe that you can buy followers - I vaguely remember reading about someone who had something like a million followers, and when Instagram changed something, they all disappeared. In the end, who cares? As long as it's fun, preserves our memories, and allows us to interact with like-minded people, that's all that's important :-)

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  2. I wonder the same things about Instagram?! Especially the flowers in the front seat with expensive purses sitting next to them and of course coffee! What is the obsession with all white homes? That boggles me. The white walls, the white furniture, the white everything.

    I don't know. Snapchat is winning for me right now because I love the behind the scenes and the mundane everyday living. That is far more interesting to me than the perfect squares right now.

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  3. Yess to so much of this. After getting snapchat I forgot about instagram a little bit, but I want to start using it more again because like you said it's so nice to scroll back through your feed at all of the photos/memories. And there have been way too many times I've snapped something and thought I had a photo, only to realize it was now gone. I've been into fitness accounts for tips/workout ideas, but when someone has more selfies than anything else, it gets to be a bit much!

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  4. I don't think I will ever figure out these things about Instagram. I still have no answers. There's so much white! Who owns that much white? I have a dog and I spill things, I can't own white anything.

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  5. I love IG. Some people use it as an art form, and that's great for them. I do think that way takes a lot more time to "figure it out" as far as what to post and when. If I was getting paid to do that shit, I would totally do it too! I add a ton of nonsense hashtags sometimes because it helps me connect with other accounts. I have yet to do Snap chat. Is it just flower crowns and weird shit like that?

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  6. I've had similar questions about Instagram and the one that still gets me is the color theme. I do find myself posting a lot of "greenery", especially during the warmer months, but to stick to something like various shades of blues, or monochromatic or really vibrant seems tedious!

    As for seemingly nobody's with thousands of followers, I don't get it most times, but other times I do. I'm an avid youtube viewer. I've noticed that whenever a well known and well-loved youtuber shows family or friends, the viewers connect with them and want to know more about them as a means of learning more about the youtuber. So, when said youtuber posts an instagram with family or friend and happens to tag them, they get an influx of followers. I've found myself doing this, but not just because I like them in the videos, but I think their feeds are beautiful and actually worth the follow.

    It's funny how the Insta has pretty much left Instagram. I've recently gotten into snapchat, and I guess it is the new Instagram. There is no editing and what you snap at that moment needs to be posted or you run the risk of losing the content. I enjoy using it for that reason.
    P.S. Sorry if these were all rhetorical questions. It's just that I've been thinking about some of these questions as well, and I think I've got some figured out. :-)

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  7. I still haven't figured out the ins and outs of instagram. Though, I'm not a person who takes many photos of anything so I don't use instagram as much as others may. But I honestly don't understand why people post half of the things they do on there.

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  8. Hahaha. This post is awesome! I'm right there with you in wondering things about Instagram! <3

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  9. IG is weird lol I want to get into snapchat but it makes me feel like I lack creativity lol

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  10. Haha, I have asked myself many of these questions, too! For me, Instagram is a way for me to unleash any latent pretentious arty-farty-ness all in one place. It seems to be the appropriate place for it, judging by what everyone else is posting! I agree with Jhan - there is no Insta about Instagram anymore, that's all moved to Snapchat. I wonder what the trend will be in another year or two?

    P.S. just followed you!
    P.P.S totally with you on the awkward selfie. I just can't do it. I sat next to some overly cool person on the plane the other day and they were taking selfies for Instagram - I got such second hand embarrassment!

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  11. I just giggled all the way through this post. I absolutely love Insta because I take so many pics and it is so easy to share in a snap. I also love following along other people's lives and Insta is perfect for that, you get that quick snapshot of their day or month.

    I am like you, I always have a million questions about some of these accounts. I have a lot of questions too: Why do people post pictures of their kids with snot on their face? why do you post pictures of your kids on the potty? and how can someone have more than 50 selfie or post 3 or 4 a day? surely they haven't changed since they took the last one 4 hours ago :).

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  12. Yeah I basically agree with all of these... hahaha. I can definitely tell you I don't travel year-round, but it does take me that long to go through all of my photos. :P

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  13. I don't have instagram but I've lately become intrigued because I found out a couple of my sisters use it. I, like you, have all the same questions! Please do a follow up post if you find the answers ;)
    -Linds

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  14. I don't have instagram but I've lately become intrigued because I found out a couple of my sisters use it. I, like you, have all the same questions! Please do a follow up post if you find the answers ;)
    -Linds

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