Creative Depression Is Real – Thanks To Instagram Algorithm!
“I like how you are being calm about the whole Instagram algorithm issue, How do you not get affected by the changes going on recently & I like that regardless of all the whole Instagram issue, you are still very consistent” – These are all comments I’ve been getting lately
Today’s post is more like an Inspiration post rather than tips and I must say it comes from my heart. Lots of time as content creators we feel this personal attack on our creativity either by feeling underappreciated or not doing enough which I have come to realise most of these feelings are projected by us and what goes on in our head.
Many of us go through “creative depression” which isn’t a recognised term in the industry so, we tend to suffer it alone in silence. We might not know but gradually a lot of us are falling into “creative depression” lately – Thanks to the new Instagram algorithm. How many times do we hear this voice constantly telling us how much we are slacking and not doing enough? Compare our recent posts likes and views to previous ones? Alone, we mostly fall for this voice and swing away from the creative objectives and goals we set for ourselves and alone, we also need to summon the courage to push ourselves out of this situation which isn’t really supported by people around us or social media. Yes, taking a break can help you get away from this but I have come to see breaks as a temporary cure for creativity. How long do you want to take a break for? Rather, I have come to the term to develop and integrate a lifestyle that will permit my creativity to flow consistently without feeling threatened or attacked by everything surrounding me [Including myself].
Maybe, we are depending too much on our readers and followers? Is it killing our joy and self-appreciation for our art?
Integrating something new into your daily lifestyle can be strange and difficult at the beginning but most definitely will pay off in a long run. As creatives and content creators who definitely need actions mostly generated by our readers and followers to stay motivated. It is necessary to build a “self-appreciation lifestyle” to maintain our creativity. Lots are changing quickly about the platforms [Instagram, Traffic on our website, Engagement..] we use now that anyone would be lying if they say they don’t feel like their creativity has been threatened or attacked. I am not here to give an ultimate remedy to stop us from completely feeling bad and discouraged but I believe building our personal self-appreciation journey/lifestyle will definitely help us maintain our creativity better. So, how can we do this? Well, here are few tips I have come up with which I believe will help us reduce any sort of “creative depression” and boost motivation. I am practising these things myself and gradually, I am beginning to feel relieved and more productive. Here are few tips for anyone interested in joining me on this journey:
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- Constantly remind ourselves why we started doing what we do in the first place[Appreciate your passion regularly]
- Celebrate every likes, comment and share you get
- Get closer to your readers/followers – Engage more than ever with them [Build a genuine relationship]
- Support one another than ever [Start with bloggers you know around you/locally]
- Is collaboration dead? Engage in more collaborations than ever…We all need each other to grow effectively
- Feed your creativity: Spend more time reading and learning from others
- Weird but I found joy and motivation in reading my old/previous posts – Try it!
- Are many people just following “Trendy topics” in blogging? We need to integrate back the culture of sharing genuine and personal story/journey either through style, fashion, lifestyle or review/opinion – Reduce the “Trending topics“.
- Integrate free-time in your routine: Many of us has started to mix “Consistency” with “Always working – No time off“. See your mind and creativity as a production engine and every now and then, it needs to rest and have a check-up time to get the best out of it. Taking time off in the creative industry is not highly emphasised on. It is necessary and vital for a long-term consistency & productivity. Stop feeling guilty, you deserve to have days off.
LOVE WHAT YOU DO & APPRECIATE YOURSELF AS A CREATIVE! – With or without Instagram chronologic posting, this isn’t the time to give up. We shall continue to create.
Wow, I really feel relieved pouring my heart out on this.
Remember however you feel now, you are not alone but together we can get through it.
Want to share your opinion on this matter? COMMENT DOWN BELOW, LETS DISCUSS.
Stay connect on social media: @itsmaryamsalam/@thebloggerpoint
Maryam Salam 
I may have said it so many times but your blog is one of the very few I read. You have very great content….keep it up.
I definitely fall into creative depression a lot. Just gradually picking myself up again.
For my line of business (modest fashion), I have identified that it is certainly time to seek and actively pursue offline means of promoting and showing my products. Especially with this new Instagram algorith and also with lots of copycat out there….
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Anwww thanks dear. I always look forward to your comments too.
Thats through, everyone needs to reduce the way we depend on one platform. It’s time to start getting creative and thinking outside Instagram.
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This post is basically perfectly timed !!!! Thank you sharing this tbh I have been “creatively depressed” for a while and I’m only slowly getting back into blogging. I definitely like what you said about “developing a lifestyle that will permit creativity to flow “. Thanks for the tips I will be embarking on this journey 💪🏾😎.
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Thanks girl for taking time out to read. I just had to speak up. Many new bloggers think everything is going smoothly while we all try to maintain the facade and suffer in silence….It’s great to talk about it.
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Thank you so much for this post, It really got to me, infact i think it came at the right time.
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Thank you for taking time out to read….
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Hello all ,
First I would to commend the writer on this wonderful piece. I must say you really hit every crucial point and I have learnt a lot. I took a three year break from blogging as well as posting my daily looks on my Instagram as a matter of fact I actually just started reposting again and I must say it’s amazing to get into the feel again.
I was deeply into blogging and posting on Instagram in 2013/2014. Back then my motivation was just sharing fashion. I started with 500 followers and like a flash I had 3000 plus followers. I honestly don’t know where they came from. But what I know is that I didn’t put any artificial thought into what I was doing and I was just being myself and sharing truthfully as well as passionately. I got into Elle magazine U.K. On a feature and guess what my followers were recognizing me and messaging me I was happy and I was like wow am actually reaching people.
In my opinion Instagram changed and it became give them what they want to hear. Creatives we’re slowly moving away from their inner core and just going with the trend and doing what suits the popularity. Developing real talent was traded for popularity, likes and comments. People were not getting motivation intrinsically anymore and so we’re relying wholely on validation of others via number of likes. Anxiety and panic attacks were becoming more intense as people were staying up, doing everything possible to get the fame as opposed to developing their talent.
Here’s my take on the Instagram change :
CONS:
1. For businesses who need their content seen for a source of income to come in, this new method is a bit detrimental as clients need to see posts so SALES could speed up.
2. People are working hard to put out content to be recognized by brands who have the potential for collaborations and this new method is giving bigger Instagram owners an upper hand, such that there is an unfair and bias method of measuring talent potentials.
3. It’s synonymous to the case of the rich are getting richer. The popular pages are getting more publicity regardless of if their contents are original or more organic than the smaller accounts.
4. There is likely to be a bridge in communication as people are unable to frequently see what is going on with their friends etc asides the connecting with other creatives.
PROS
1. It is allowing creatives to go back to their drawing board and develop genuine and more organic ways to reach audiences.
2. It is bringing out survival tendencies in people thereby reminding them that life is unpredictable And as a genuine creative, you ought to be able to adapt to change and have a defense mechanism in place for unforeseen danger.
3. It is nurturing the habit of strategic planning in creatives. Many are operating without a yearly or monthly plan. In the sense that there is no risk management plan in place or marketing plan in place.
4. It is teaching the creatives to be their own marketers as opposed to relying solely on Instagram tools to do the marketing and publicity for you.
5. It is teaching creatives not to be overly dependent on tools and to understand the effect of external factors. As a creative you need to guard your skill and be alert as anything can happen at any time and when this occurs what’s your plan.
6. This is encouraging a lot of creatives to take their skills to the next level. To expand and think outside the box.
7. It is also reducing over engagement of tools. Most people are becoming to reliant and addicted to Instagram thereby making it difficult to have a life outside this platform. With this change people would have more physical meetings and take more breaks off their phone.
8. It is teaching the creatives the importance of having a succession plan. In the sense that trends are not permanent in business, there are changes that come with technology, government policies and competitors and when this occurs, what plan is set in place for you to transit to the next level.
As a creative we are brands. For a brand to excel there must be a plan. To sustain this plan, you need finances. To make financial breakthrough you have to think like a business man and make your talent a well mapped out business. Being creative isn’t the final bus stop, take it to the next level.
This may seem like a bad thing but as creatives our work is to always provide solutions and work on a canvass which is never ending.
I hope I have been able to help all you beautiful people in my own way. We would all get through this successfully .
P.S if you discover any typological errors or misconstrued sentences, pardon me. I wrote this on the spot and the comment section doesn’t provide adequate tools for proof reading lest I mistakenly erase all I have just written.
Sincerely
Nemi Ariweriokuma
Fashion entrepreneur
IG : @styletrailer & @theoutletstyletrailer
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WOW Girl, I totally agree with everything you said…Great break down.
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Thanks dear
Happy to have been of help
Sincerely
Nemi Ariweriokuma
IG : @styletrailer
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