When I first started taking social media “seriously” as part of my career I was promised the world. In exchange for my time and the production of “hiqh quality content” I would be rewarded with “an audience” which would elevate my artistic output out of obscurity. “Building an audience”, specifically on Instagram, was supposed to be the answer to years of exclusion from traditional arts career growth paths. After many years of an unhealthy love hate rollercoaster with the platform, I’ve set my final boundary - I will no longer be making original content for platforms that take more than they give.

Towards the end of lockdown last year (2021) I decided to give “growing on Instagram” a red hot go. I knew it was possible - half my feed was women making similar and successful content to me. I started shooting outfits accompanied by elaborate makeup and writing thoughtful words to accompany the shots. Essentially I was doing this blog on a slightly smaller scale on a website I didn’t own. My reward for this effort? Stagnate growth, diminishing interaction and a creative exhaustion so great I was no longer able to post here, on the internet space I own and care about.

The general vibe I get from society, arts marketing places and social media corporations is that posting to social media is a “neutral task” artists must do. You “just do it” once a day. It takes “so little time”. It’s “easy”. In reality, posting “high quality content” to social media is none of these things. Creating a good audience experience, taking good photos, and editing good videos are all skills that take time and equipment to develop and time to implement on a public platform. Currently, my “low effort” version of social media takes me 6 hours a month. Before I set boundaries? It would have been more like 20 hours a month. That is not an insignificant amount of time or a neutral amount of effort!

Here’s the thought I keep coming back to: social media companies are too comfortable leeching off the free labour of artists in all stages of their careers. Some artists get lucky and find a thread of popularity that gets them paid because they’re known. The rest of us? We have to deal with a power imbalance the size of David and Goliath. I took my power back by seeing what the Goliath truly is: just another gatekeeper willing to exploit creatives in the name of profit and growth.

I’m still on Instagram. I have a small but decent following there and it’s a good way to get the word out about my creative happenings, however now I’m using it in the way they want me to use it: as an advertising tool. You know what? It feels better.

About the outfit: I’ve gradually been sewing down my stash and finally got round to using this stunning may gibs pattern I’ve been holding onto! (You can watch me make it in the video below ;)) I’ve paid the skirt with a thrifted vintage shirt, my favourite flower belt, a blue coat from review, a beret from Ellini the Lable, black shoes and white tights!

Latest Video:

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