Instagram is a completely different world compared to my experience on Twitter-X. I’ve only been there for a few months, mostly posting links to blog-posts, uploading my experiments with AI art and the very occasional image from my life. It is a much more visual place than Twitter-X’s ‘wordy’ format. It also seems to be kinder. There are a lot of more obvious communities built up around a variety of chronic pain conditions. People post how they’re feeling, motivational comments, or helpful ideas to nurture others. Readers then shower them with appreciation. Some of the profiles have a hundred followers and gain a huge amount of feedback. Overall, it’s quite a reassuring place to spend time in.
However, whilst it’s a ‘cool’ place to hang out, I am becoming increasingly conflicted about Instagram. And by ‘saying the quiet part out loud’ I realize that I might offend a few of you. So, before I say what I want to say, let me clarify my position; I believe that you are in pain AND equally importantly, I believe that you can get better. I think that pain is not pretty and that migraineurs pay a high price all day, every day, because of their illness.
That said, here’s my concern with Instagram. The more time I spend on Instagram the more posts I come across in which people (accidentally?) ‘glamorize’ or ‘commercialize’ suffering. They ‘lean into’ their illness (or other people’s) and appear to be making a brand, or maybe even a buck, out of it.
People absolutely have the right to make an income to support themselves and their families. No doubt about it. If that income comes from commissions gained by recommending chronic-illness-related products, selling e-books or subscriptions filled with helpful advice, that’s ok. Provided they’re clear that’s what they’re up to. I just feel a little bit uncomfortable with how blurry the line seems to be on Instagram between ‘helping someone’ and ‘selling something to someone’. ‘Popularity’ has always equaled ‘currency’, so I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised with what’s happening. As a reader however, I just can’t shake the feeling that I’m always on slippery ground; is the advice I’m reading meant to help me or is it just a lever to get my attention and turn me into a potential customer?
Moreover, the notion of influencers gaining traction and popularity by appealing to other people’s suffering makes me very uncomfortable. I don’t doubt some of the high follower counts come from the posters being highly relatable, so good on them for having the power to reach people. It’s not their fault that right beside their post is another post that promises it can ‘monetize eyeballs’, and another that will ‘automate’ your content so that you can post more often with less effort. It’s also not their fault that people are constantly ‘DMing’ me, asking for the “very chap price” of $12 to upload three of my AI images onto their super-professional site for a barrage of love hearts in return. Ugh.
On my feed, it seems as if one in five posts is “sponsored”.
Genuine ‘giving’ shouldn’t also involve ‘taking’ something in return. I decided on day one of this blog that in the same way the advice I had received had been a ‘gift’ to me, that my advice to others would be free and ad-free, resources and all. I even pay the powers-that-be to make sure other people’s ads don’t pop up on my blog page (if you see one let me know, because I’ll be disappointed).
Maybe I’m just an old geek and my schoolyard prejudices against the ‘cool kids’ are showing. Perhaps. Nonetheless, when you do go to hang out in Instagram-land, remember the saying that the only people who refer to their customers as ‘users’ are tech giants and drug dealers.
Take care out there, Linda x
The Mindful Migraine 
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