There has always been a lot of negativity surrounding instagram and social media in general. There are an overwhelming number of reports on the negative impact that these platforms have on individuals mental health, especially now children are exposed to them from such a young age. I wanted to reflect on my personal experiences with the platform, and how it’s helped me get to where I am today in both my personal and professional life.
The Good:
Easily the number one thing to have come out of Instagram for me, is the people that I’ve met. I talk about this a lot, most recently in my post on finding my adventure buddies. Nearly all of the people that I now spend my time with, are people that I have met via the community on instagram, Whether this is through group walks, or just friendships that have built up over time. Being exposed to so many incredible, like minded people has really helped me to open up, feel comfortable in myself and has just had an all round positive impact on my life. I have crossed paths with such a wide range of people, that if it hadn’t been for these situations, I probably would never have met.
I have also explored much more of the Uk since starting my account. Yes, this is probably partly down to lockdown and being unable to travel further afield, but instagram has definitely played a big part. Whether it’s been to meet new people, trips away or just to visit certain spots that I’ve seen shared on others profiles.
One of the other big positives to have come from instagram is the products and opportunities that I’ve received. This has ranged from walking gear to trips away, with my biggest adventure yet just on the horizon. I am incredibly grateful for every opportunity and try my best not to take any of it for granted. I am also very lucky to have had several paid opportunities to work with brands that I love. This has been pretty helpful for me through a time when I have had very little other income. There has been a lot of debate over gifted vs. paid collaborations and people being criticised for the choices that they make, but ultimately it should just be down to personal preference. In the beginning it was hard not to be over excited about opportunities that were presented, however now, I try to only work with brands who I completely support and who’s products I would use and buy anyway. A couple of the brands that I am most grateful for working with include:
Seashell: I have been working with and supporting Seashell for coming up to a year now. They launched in June 2021 with changing robes (which having tried many different ones, are my personal favourite) and since then they have not only grown their product range, but their community too – having mostly recently run a Dip a Day Challenge throughout October. I have been gifted products from their range, but have also bought my own too and I am very rarely seen without one of their beanies when out and about.
ACAI Outdoorwear: I have only recently become an ACAI adventurer, after joining one of their free hikes in the Peak District and having the opportunity to meet some of the team. They are an outdoor brand for women, designed by women. I was really surprised when I found out thas ACAI is such a small business, as their reach over the past few years has been phenomenal. Their products, especially their ranges of outdoor trousers, are really highly thought of by everyone I know who has tried them – which is pretty much everyone I know in the outdoor world! It’s a brand whose ethos I respect and products I highly recommend.
The Bad:
It can be very easy to get sucked into a world of comparisons. There have definitely been occasions in the past when I have been jealous of others and the opportunities they recieve, which have led me to question my worth. These are the times when I’ve known I needed to take a step back, take a break and look at the reasons why I let these things effect me. I have done a lot of work on myself over the last year or so and I’m now much better at managing this and being grateful for the opportunities I receive and proud of myself for the things I’ve achieved.
One of the other things I have struggled with is the amount of time I can spend scrolling. Some days, especially through lockdown, I would spend 5+ hours a day on instagram! When you see these kinds of figures it’s absolutely shocking and straight away my mind jumps to what else could I have been doing with that time. I now have several things in place to help reduce the amount of time I spend on social media apps, including a 10 minute scrolling notification and a 2 hour limit – though this still seems a lot and I’m working to reduce it. I am also trying to not go on my phone as soon as I wake up in a morning and to have at least an hour without it before I go to bed, but again I need to work on this.
Over the past few years I have also come across an awful lot of trolling via instagram, and have on occasion, received some myself. Unfortunately this seems to just be part and parcel of sharing anything on social media nowadays. Back in June 2021, I received one of my first trolling comments, which actually led me to write one of my most liked blog posts to date: ‘My Journey with my Body – Loving and Hating the Lumps and Bumps‘. Compared to a lot of my friends, I seem to have got off pretty lightly when it comes to trolls, but even the smallest of comments can have a real negative impact. I now try not to think about them and just block, delete and move on. At the end of the day, they’re the ones you really need to feel sorry for if their entertainment is writing nasty comments to strangers on the internet.
The Inspirational:
A lot of the adventures I’ve been on over the past few years have been inspired by others. It took me so long to build up the courage to go on my first solo wild camp, but it was watching others do it and listening to their advice, that really helped me to get out there and face my fears. There are so many incredible individuals who share their adventures and advice and often, I don’t think people realise just how much they’re inspiring others.
Instagram has also been a huge inspiration with finding places to visit. From hiking destinations to swim spots, of lot of these I discovered from others going there. This can be quite a controversial topic, especially when it comes to ‘secret’ swim spot locations, with people being hated on for sharing and also hated on for not sharing. It can be a tricky balancing act between gatekeeping and protecting some of the beautiful locations from being over run and ruined by people who ultimately don’t care.
I’m also extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to share my adventures and inspire others in the process. This is something I still struggle to get my head around and I shared my thoughts back in my post: A Serious Case on Imposter Syndrome: Inspiration for the Outdoors. Over the next few days I am attending the Adventure Mind Conference and can’t wait to share my experiences, hear research and insights from others and hopefully find some inspiration for my next steps in life!
Obviously I can only comments on the outdoor world within Instagram, but for me, the positives definitely outweigh the negatives.
Happy adventuring! x
Lisa Outdoors 