My Project 365 on Instagram is nearly over (and not a moment too soon)! I’ve been thinking about what life looks like once this social media odyssey comes to an end. There’ll be no more catching up for missed days; no more wrangling a buggy app and an ageing space-poor phone; and most importantly, no more cursing the day I decided to start posting a picture a day 😛

I’m only half-joking, of course. Project 365 started out as an aesthetic form of mindfully checking in on something for mental health reasons. A year is a long time, though, and somewhere along the way, this project began to morph into other things too.

1. Creativity motivation

Sometimes I go for days, doing the same things over and over. Write, edit, eat, sleep—lather, rinse, repeat. All the interesting stuff happens in my head, which doesn’t usually make for interesting photos.

Dealing with the pressure to post every day (cos if you miss a post, you have to catch up), and being forced to look at my own grid to keep track of posts, really motivated me to explore more ways to express my ideas visually.

From stock photo choices to post topics, I’m feeling a lot more fluent and confident about sharing what life looks like in the worlds I’m building. I suppose this is one way authors can get personal on social media without having to surrender private data to the Reavers.

2. Forced learning

In order to get more creative and expressive, I needed to learn more about the tools on hand. If one app can’t achieve the effect I want, how might another app do it for me—or how might one combine both to create something artistic that conveys the right mood?

I’ve also had to learn about IG, what it demands from its users, and what it takes away. I was lucky enough to sit in on a social media workshop hosted by a power user I know, and I gotta say the way this platform works makes me think about vampire covens and the thralls who willingly offer their wrist in exchange for a chance at eternal life.

In case it’s not clear, that’s us. We are the thralls. And only a small subset of us will receive the Dark Gift 🧛 Based on my engagement stats, I’m pretty sure I’m not included in that group.

But, you know, it’s always good to learn. It keeps your brain young and fresh. If I can’t have immortality, I’ll take this instead.

3. A pressing reason to question the role social media plays in my life

The days I’ve spent away from Instagram are so peaceful. Even with a small audience and low engagement, I find myself spending a spoon just to open up the app. Two spoons if the app misfires or crashes, or if well-behaved content gets disappeared for pretending to violate an unspecified rule, or if yet another privacy/data security/corporate abuse of power scandal makes headlines.

But then, the days I’m playing with pictures and text are kind of soothing too; it’s a creative outlet for ideas that churn my coconut. I love having a laugh with friends over silly memes. And it’s nice to share something arty with people. If someone smiles or gets a sweet (or spicy) feeling from something I’ve posted, then I’ve done my job as a storyteller and reminded a person how it feels to be alive. In a world that numbs us with its chaos, I feel this helps us believe in our future.

But is feeding the Gram-pire the right way to go about it? All this rapid-fire content consumption seems to steer us towards a quantity-over-quality mindset. Can a no-name author somehow be part of the social media conversation and still embrace life in the slow lane?

These sounds: even in the haze.

So, what now?

Well, once it’s over, my first order of business will be to take a long break from IG. I’m not gonna make some grand speech about leaving the platform for good, because the truth is, I will be back. There’s stuff I like to look at. I just don’t want to drink it through a firehose 🧯