let's make instagram casual again? 

i miss the days when the only pressure that came with posting on ig was finding an app to add white borders to your pictures

I feel like “finsta/secret” accounts have become what ALL Instagram is supposed to be. That’s where people post whatever they want, whenever they want without obsessing over how nice the photo is or how many likes they get. I remember when we all posted like this on our actual accounts and I miss it :(

I'm sorry, these braids look SO CUTE...okay Imma watch the video now

I think the scariest thing is people assuming that they basically "don't exist" just bc they don't have social media...maybe I'm interpreting the comments wrong, but, in my opinion, you absolutely get validation from friends, family, coworkers, hell even your barista... You don't need apps for validation, but not having on online presence doesn't mean you don't have an influence on the world.

i wish instagram has a feature where you can choose to turn off if other people see your likes and if you see other people's likes. it gets rid of pressure for people who want that and allows artist and influencers (even though I think we should get rid of celebrity culture) to still get that coin.

I feel like people are doing that now with photo dumps. Just a post with a bunch of random pictures. It's definitely making a comeback.

I feel like Instagram has distorted guys perception of what girls look like. They now expect us to resemble IG models and if we don't, we're considered abnormal. Most beautiful attractive people IRL still have physical flaws. I have never seen anyone in person with airbrushed looking skin.

Also it’s really weird to see Instagram suddenly act like they care about the individual as if they haven’t been prioritizing already famous influencers and businesses over everyone else the last few years. I can’t even find my friends’ posts without going through at least three ads

Your commentary on thin white influencers being the face of the "make instagram casual" movement is so true. I actually like Emma Chamberlains channel but she is the first person that comes to mind. If I presented myself in the way she does no one would think I'm quirky, effortless or relatable LOL.

I also think that it's completely fine if you want Instagram to be your highlights or if you want to make everything aesthetic. Taking aesthetic pictures can be a lot of fun so people shouldn't judge other people for posting "perfect" pictures, but it's nice to see people also show the behind the scenes

You put this so well especially the bit about white thin pretty girls being the forefront of the "movement". They are so well dressed and *aesthetic* so even if the pictures are blurry we'll all be comparing ourselves to them anyway

Instagram removing the likes is not because they care about mental health but because they care about advertisement. Removing likes means that brands will most likely be going directly to IG for theirs ads than to influencers, and that's what they have done this.

"Sometimes being self-aware is not enough, just be sincere, you don't have to be ironic to be cool" that hit me hard.

See this was interesting to me because I LOVE an aesthetic insta feed. To me I think it’s clever and artistic and it’s what I try to do. And I noticed photos changing from influencers where photos looked a little blurry or low quality or like rolling credits from an indie movie. So while I understand why people want less pressure- I’m glad you brought up the paradox that making photos look “worse” on purpose is also an aesthetic and an effort can be made to make things seem more fluid and fun. Personally- I’m gonna stick to my aesthetic Instagram for a few reasons- 1. It is true to me 2. I think it’s pretty and artistic and it makes me happy 3. There’s a reason people have Instagram feeds that are like all pink or well shot etc because your close friends and family care if you felt cute today, or worked out or had a cool meal in a restaurant- but to grow thousands of followers... you need to be putting something out there people want to see a lot. There’s no reason why a 22 year old in Utah wants to follow a 27 year old in the U.K. (unless they met elsewhere online) unless they see a feed that aligns with their interest- ie a feed that’s all about fashion- a page that’s full of jokes or quotes or fitness etc. And so for that I’m keeping my curated feed because that’s sincere to me

we haven't had likes for years in Canada and instagram is still toxic, it doesn't change much

We haven’t had likes on instagram in Canada for almost two years I think? if I’m remembering correctly but it’s been so long that is now the norm for me, and honestly I really appreciate it. You can still see your own likes so creators shouldn’t be too worried about it.

i actually do think “effortless” and instagram can get along. all my favorite photos from aesthetic instagrammers have been pictures where it’s a 2 second video of them turning their head toward the camera, or an off guard picture of them eating sushi or a blurry one of them hugging their friends in the rain. sure they may be in a pretty location or wearing a cute outfit and makeup but it’s still like observing life. and life for them might just be very beautiful and aesthetic bc they can afford to be surrounded by beautiful things and places. (see: devon lee carson, rachel nguyen, sahar lunar)

it actually helped me a lot, i used to be so stressed about my post not getting enough likes and my people making fun of me in hc, so i stopped posting for a very long time and now ig did this, i kinda appreciate it

I cannot stress enough how much I needed an articulated perspective on this subject - a lot of the things you mentioned were latent thoughts I had too since the casual movement started but I couldn’t really put my finger on them. Really great video!

when i first got instagram i was excited because i'm a visual person and love being able to see life through someone's eyes (or phone lens). i would just post things i found beautiful including nature, family, etc. once the platform started to shift towards influencers and content creation i thought i had to switch it up too especially as someone who wants to go into content creation. however i realized that i didn't want to go back in my life and see my camera roll and social media filled with countless pictures of brands and me being fake happy just for gratification. all of that to sayyyyy i recently got my instagram back and will go back to posting to what matters and my truth. we shouldn't have to sacrifice ourselves for things that probably won't matter later on :))

This is why I deleted instagram 3 years ago, even back then it started to be all about looking cool effortlessly and it sucked comparing myself because I never measured. I *genuinely* believe that it's made my quality of life better. I still take tons of photos of my friends and I having fun/selfies but I keep them to myself as reminders of my life. Sometimes I'll print them and put them in my journal. They make me so happy to look at (especially knowing someone else isn't judging them).

This must not be everywhere yet. I still see everyone's likes and engagements.

I honestly love photography, so I've always had fun planning my instagram feed, playing with the colors, and also making my own pics kind of artistic helps me a lot accepting my body and face a lot more (not by changing it with the edit, just by puting love an effort in seeing myself as art). In the other hand, with this new casual trendt, I have been cuestioned by a lot of people about why do I put so much effort on my feed and posting sudenly feels like a lot of pressure an anxiety and I end up just doing it in the planning apps.

This has really opened my eyes I think I knew everything you’ve addressed I just always ignored it. So insightful and enlightening thank you 💜

Tbh I’ve noticed influencers like bestdressed doing this and I feel like it’s really disingenuous when they do it because it’s meant to be like “oh look. I’m a person. I’m relatable. Not all my pictures are perfect” but it actually feels really forced when someone whose job is social media tries to be ~ relatable ~

if they just changed the algorithm to be based on the time it was posted again it would fix so many issues

It's so true that the people who say make ig casual again are primarily thin, white and beautiful (by society's standard) people who live in aesthetically pretty places. Like yeah a grocery store photo maybe casual for you but I can't even find such pretty looking grocery stores where I live, or have new trendy outfits for every picture even if that outfit is considered "casual"

BRO YES. the freaking part where you were talking about working so hard to look effortless WOW like i knowww if i tried to go casual on insta i would automatically turn to this but i totally think it’s worse than trying to be perfect all the time. idk if any of this made sense but this video got me thinkinggggg

i feel like this kinda thing only really works if you have friends that wouuld even see ur posts😅 as an artist/small biz i could see it being fun if i didn't already spend so much time on insta for work! for me i feel like i do this "casual insta" vibe via printed photos/journalling which is nice bc it gets me away from screens for a bit :)

i think the closest ill ever get to being casual on Instagram is on my finsta because I know can comfortably post whatever I want. On a private account you chose who gets to see you but the minute you're public I feel like I've lost that choice and I'm less in control so I end up trying harder to eliminate that feeling its quite the toxic cycle i must say 🥲

I have always loved doing art. Is it dancing, singing, filming, acting, drawing, decor, fashion, modeling... just everything that can be made art, I love doing. For me instagram is not me, it is my art. I love making everything pink and beautiful. It is not the real me, but I don't want it to be me. I have way more fun trying to tell a story with my pictures. I understand the frustration in looking at pictures that try to be authentic, but clearly are not, but for me, I want my pictures to be fantasy. I love how I can see my effort in the pictures I have.

really liked this style of video they way you're just discussing & thinking out loud with your audience, you raise some great points but it still feels like a friendly discussion and level playing field as opposed to some videos where people are so quick to condemn or applaud things. Instagram is such a strange world, it honestly fries your brain just trying to have fun with it and show up/share what you're doing meanwhile constantly imagining how others are going to react to it!

"You don't have to be ironic to be cool." I felt that. Also -- "Anonymity is oblivion."

You are wise, beautiful and articulate! Love your perspective and personality! I’ve been binge watching your videos since discovering it yesterday. I hope you attain more success! ♥️

I haven't posted on personal IG in 3 years lol but yeah, from a personal account point of view fully agree with you

"You dont have to be self-aware to be cool--just be sincere." stopped me in my tracks

private accounts / finstas are the real approaches at posting casually on instagram. i remember in high school literally posting pictures of the windows of the bus and just saying like oh i have a test today.

I WAS JUST TELLING MY FRIEND HOW EVERYONE TAKES INSTAGRAM SO SERIOUSLY

girllllll first: u look GLOWINGGGG hope u are doing well!! Second: this video is top tier.👏 I love your commentary and also such an interesting topic!!! Thank you girl for another bangerrrrr 🤪💕

honestly i stopped posting on instagram like over a year ago i've always disliked the platform and i only keep my profile just to like stay in touch with certain people i got so tired of feeling like i have to keep a certain aesthetic and act a certain way if i wanna tell everyone about something that happened to me in the moment, i am happy to post a story i miss when i first downloaded the app in 2014 and it was just badly taken pictures on retrica with my friends hanging out at starbucks or something... that was 100% more authentic than anything that's going on right now

sometimes i plan pictures because i love photography, i don't post all my pictures, but sometimes i really like a picture i've taken and edited and want to share it to see what other people think, i hate that i have to wait like a month to post a picture i've taken because i posted 5 days before and don't want it to look to soon or that i'm addicted to social media, so now i don't even think about other people and post when i want what i want because i'm too lazy to map out the amount of days between each post

basically to me it’s like the people who are actually being authentic on instagram don’t need a movement to tell them to

I still can’t see likes on my finsta and when I go into it it feels kind of odd but also relieving. So happy you posted though. 😊🤍

I always delete social media during school but do download it during breaks and I can tell u that my mental health THRIVES when I don’t have any social media

This was inspiring because I haven’t been on Instagram in 3 year years for the reasons mentioned in this video. I totally agree with the performance aspect which is draining! Like hey look at how pretty, rich etc I am. If I got back on I would do my best to post things that inspire people with the things I like (not just my face/body)... could be corny but that’s me!

i don't know how i ended up on genz-tube but wow am i grateful the internet wasn't this robust when i was younger...y'all are going through! on the other hand i'm excited for y'all to be able to look back at this public database of your contribution to the zeitgeist later in y'all's lives.

off the topic but omg i just love that she looks so bright and positive, like idk how to explain it but she looks so happy!!

I agree on this 1,000%. I noticed a lot of my friends have been changing their Instagram home layout styles while I keep my Instagram layouts basic. I think it also depends on the person using Instagram and how it attracts them/their viewers eyes. I honestly do not care, but as for the “likes” part... I try not to get caught up, but if this feature is official, I do not know how I will feel. I still have the “likes” feature, so we will see😅💯

i just want to say that your voice is really soft and comforting

I didn’t even know there were unspoken rules to Instagram. I’ve never given a shit about Instagram. I haven’t seen likes for 2 years and I only post pictures that are funny to my friend and I but weird to the people who follow me cause it’s so funny imagining what others think about my posts

would you say that snapchat is the most casual of all current social media apps? i think it's fleeting the same way real life is and there's no pressure that what you post will be viewable by everyone forever.

a few years ago i deleted my main instagram and switched to my spam which is now the one that everyone follows me on and i just post whatever i want. i don’t have many followers but honestly i like it that way it’s freeing to have no limits. it was the best thing i ever did

I actually found removing likes freeing. It made me feel less self conscious. But I totally understand why small businesses would be against it.

i personally like editing my photos and making a feed, i always have. it’s fun, gives me something to do and takes me back to my rp days (embarrassing enough 😭) and tbh that’s really where it started. i don’t do it for likes or popularity. i do it for fun and it’s cute. and i might take influence from other instagramers if they have good ideas but i don’t do it for popularity

I've been thinking about this too, how it seems that the new trend in ig feeds is this "effortlessness" you metioned, but you put the feeling into words perfectly. Loved your video.

Weirdly interesting how other people use Instagram. I've never really had a problem with those "perfect pictures", probably because 90% of the people I follow are artists like myself. Other 10% are friends that rarely post. Instagram can be used for many things but I'm surprised that a lot of people seem rather unaware of those sides of social media.

“Anonymity is oblivion at this point” wow

Uuuggghh i agree with you on so many levels, i thought i was the only one that looked at the multiple layers of the rise of casual instagram

As a millennial who got to "enjoy" (middle school is middle school and obviously sucks most of the time) growing up without social media (my senior year of high school I got FB after getting my college email) I just want to say how sorry I am you all (gen Z) had to endure this toxic self focus mediated through social media. You are beautiful, bright, and bringing such important awareness to this. Shine on!

Right? The fakeness and the influencers culture is why i deactivated my IG 2 years ago, like being on ig is just a waste of time nowadays

Your voice has a Grimes quality. I love it

The "like my recent" phenomenon also perplexes me. I never understood why people would DM me to like their recent picture. It's such a weird thing to ask people to do. It makes you think that the "likes" feature is the only thing they really care about vs the content they are putting out.

my Insta feed is definitely more chill than a lot of people's these days, and I love it bc I can pretty much post whatever I want and not worry abt other people's opinions. like it's clear I'm not trying to post for any other reason than showing my friends and cute guys what I'm up to

pls start a podcast

I used to be super concerned about likes & curating an aesthetic when I was in high school but now I see it a lot differently. I’m an artist, so I love posting my art & things I find inspiring. I don’t micromanage it and only post whatever I want, whenever I feel like it. I find my body just as inspiring as my own artworks and have grown to see myself as a work of art and love sharing that confidence I’ve curated cause it’s just FUN for me. I don’t care who looks, who follows, who likes, who comments, etc. My intentions for posting is purely for my own sense of self expression and to have this sort of photographic diary of my physical progress in life. I love to share my thoughts or realizations & just use the app however I want. I’m not concerned with how easily “digestible” or “commodified” I am perceived as because I love who I am with or without anyone else’s support or criticism. I think the issue with feeling pressured or insecure about the internet persona starts when we aren’t looking at things with a clear and light hearted mind or are seeking validation from any external sources. You should not be looking up to any of these mere mortals who just happen to be attractive or rich. There’s a serious obsession with matters of the flesh and instant gratification in our culture that goes beyond this one issue and more than likely has roots in lacking connection to the greater forces of nature/the universe. Everyone is too dependent upon this strange herd mentality and act as if we need permission to just be ourselves. It’s such a sad way to live. In conclusion: Just stop caring and comparing to these empty ass influencers lol!! Do things that make YOU happy. Live life in alignment with what YOU feel fulfilled by. Even if that means never going on these soulless apps again. People have to be more comfortable with developing their own identity away from the internet, but I think that’s a bigger conversation all together.

As instagram became less casual, I started posting less and less. I only post once a year now for the sake of posting. Staged casual photos are not casual at all. I do think that is part of the appeal of Snapchat and Stories since those photos are less staged and more spontaneous.

These days, all I do is watch everyone's stories/reels, like every photo in my feed unless it's a sponsored ad, a post from a celebrity, or it's just a Bible verse or something like that, and respond to messages.

You are such an insightful person🥰🥰I wish people all did more thinking before initiating any movement or starting any trend

The people at Facebook/Instagram are universally aware that likes are bad for mental health. When they say they’re testing no likes, they’re trying to see if getting rid of likes causes people to spend even more time on Instagram.

the days when we’d just shit post and have close to 300+ photos within a couple months of having an account

I used to struggle so much with the amount of likes my posts received (being an instagram artist is not easy) but after they removed public likes, it just got easier to keep doing my stuff and feeling good about it, even if I still can access the likes and engagement privately So yeah, I loved it

Such a drama! Here in Brazil they removed likes 2 yrs ago and everybody is fine, influencers still gain money and business as usual. It's really good to not see likes all the time

My insta's been pretty much dead since covid started, but I as much as I used it before I didn't know that there were rules about having to use the same filter for every photo in your grid, as far as I can tell posting on the grid has been on the way out since 2018. As fun as it is getting the perfect shot of yourself in a really cool place, I do kinda miss the days of Instagram being full of pictures of random shit you just thought looked cool.

this is the exact video I’ve been trying to find, thank you! 👏🏼

A couple years ago I was ~ig famous~ for cosplay but one day I freaked out because I had all these followers and I took everyone off my followers list and made my account private. I feel better, but sometimes in a cringe way I miss the attention. But I realize that is the bad effect of social media

You’re hair looks soo good I can’t

The butterfly locks!!! So pretty :)

when i was in elementary school, i posted whatever on instagram like a pic of a banana and like screenshotted minion “memes” and now, I feel so pressured to post a curated feed like others and aesthetic things so much that I just kind of gave up on insta and I haven’t uploaded anything in 3 or so years... I feel stressed knowing how many followers I have or knowing what profile pic I should have so I’m just kind of avoiding it now

this would be the best thing to happen to the platform

I just post whenever I feel confident idc bout numbers it’s more like sometimes I look and I’m like “oh lol cool” and likes I’m like “this hair more than this oh ok” the thing I care about the most is story views cause I talk a lot on one of my accounts and I’m aware that ppl find it annoying and most of my followers just skip

Its WILD to me this whole social media thing. I grew up out without snapchat, IG, Facebook. The thing for us was myspace and our only worries were having a bomb ass playlist on your page.

i love how the add came up right after you said ”it's what pays the bills" 😆 great video! 💘

I relate to the peace sign reflex so much. I just do it on instinct whenever my friends take pictures of me 😭

So well said! And yeah I go super deep into the layers of all this too

Wow this video is everything! I’ve been thinking about this sooooo much and thought I was the only one. Thank you for verbalizing this

Honestly “casual” Instagram is just another manufactured aesthetic.

it’s crazy how the older I get and more involved with social media I get, the more I want to erase all proof of my existence online. it’s crazy. anyway rly good video!!!!! love your energy and thoughts

Remember: if you’re not paying for the product, you’re the product

I think everyone would be happier if we all just shit posted

i noticed the exact same thing when people started making their Instagram "casual" it was still somehow aesthetically pleasing "cool" pictures which came off as the exact opposite of "casual and effortless" but it makes people feel different and less pretentious so I understand why its a big movement

the true casual posters of our generation are the guys that just have ‘hi’ as their bio and their only pictures are one from 2016 with a fish and one from 2017 standing on some mountain on their family vacation lmao

Deleted it because I realized even people who looked “natural” and “casual” were still constructing a false reality. It’s such a highly curated piece of someone’s life that it makes me not want to interact on the platform.

it’s like how i’ve noticed a ton of people typing in all lowercase all the time like this. it makes you look like you are chill and don’t care but they literally had to go into settings and turn off auto-capitalization to get that effect, you know what i mean? It’s a performance of coolness and casualness that is very calculated

make insta casual again has the same energy as flaunting a natural no makeup look

i’m so glad i’m not the only one that over analyzes human behavior and social media

one thing that I dislike about “casual posting” is that it’s really only for the people who were already “successful” on Instagram. I know plenty of people who don’t have a lot of followers and are “nerds” or “weird” but they have always posted whatever they want. which has never been seen as cool.. posting causally is only cool for people who were cool when Instagram wasn’t casual edit: lol I watched the rest of the video and you literally just said what I was thinking.. this “movement” is led by thin white girls when other people were already doing it

"manufacturing authenticity" is such a word. It reminds me of when perfectly curated and elaborate morning routines were popular on YT. But now I'm seeing more folks post "relatable" routines where they talk about being on your phone in bed and not drinking water lol

I miss the days when people posted pictures of their pets, coffee mugs, books, with their friends or just picnicking out alone. Now everytime I go on Instagram, everyone is on a vacation.

hot take: you don't have to use instagram 🤷‍♀️ I understand the movement, but it's impossible to get 2011/2012 instagram back, it will never be casual again. I started using a physical photo album again and printing out all the pictures I took and putting them in there. I can still show friends those pictures. I can still see those pictures. And there is no pressure at all for them to be super pretty or super cool or whatever. Idk but that's something I can recommend to everyone, there is just something really nice about opening a book to look at your memories. Instagram is just not a consumer friendly platform anymore and just gets worse day by day.

i got instagram in high school when it first came out- the algorithm wasnt screwed, it wasnt monetized, and there were no editing apps so you posted the worst angles but the pictures were real. it was a very different place than now. monetizing apps seem to be the downfall of social media