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Rachel Christopoulos

Why I Only Follow One Account on Instagram

Have you ever wondered why I only follow one account?


A couple years ago, I was sitting with a dear friend on my sofa and I said to her, "I think I follow too many people." At the time, I followed about 650+ individuals and accounts and assumed I needed to do that in order to have a well rounded social persona and experience on Instagram.


Except the opposite was happening. I was overwhelmed by opinions, activity, doubts about my own work, negative thoughts about others, positive thoughts and then envious ones.


I've always proudly assumed I was one of those rare individuals who wasn't really affected by who and what I followed and yet once I turned off my like counts and began to hit the unfollow button until the app assumed I was having a mid-life crisis and blocked my progress, I was finally able to admit it to myself: following this many incredible things is detrimental to my creativity and ultimately me.



Saying goodbye to my favorite artists was so difficult.


At least I realized I can still be on their newsletters and following their progress like a creep who doesn't actually follow them. I just watch stories and like and comment and maybe some notice but largely most don't.


So here we are now.


It took me 2 years to whittle down my follows into one: I currently follow KwikTrip and I think it's absolutely hilarious. And if we're being honest, I was inspired by Nutter Butter's TikTok because they follow Pitbull and it doesn't make sense but it's fantastic anyway.


Here's why I did it:


Social Pressure Killed My Organic Creativity


Did you know that this is the first year I have actually felt like I can sit and focus on my own art?


Up until now, I've spent all my studio time making paintings to post on social media so faceless accounts can inform what I make more of. My art became (and at times still is), an endless cycle of pop-culture, regurgitated ideas, and double-taps that fuel my intuition.



Some days I don't even know what my intuition is or how to decipher what it says... but for the first time in a long time, the quiet I've created has stopped my Instagram busy work and allowed me to poke into the muse.


My muse, not just the one I think is mine because I just want to make something that will sell in three seconds.



I'm sorry I unfollowed you in the name of mental health & creativity.


I only use one social media and the lines of personal and professional have always been blurred because I don't really want a personal account. Isn't Rachel's Shoppe supposed to be that...kinda?


But then my feed was a swampy mess of adorable friend updates, artist information, amazing work, random memes, and I was back to square one even though I followed a meager 100 accounts.


What sucks is how a follow indicates interest in said work/you. It was difficult to put everyone from past students to favorite artists and friends up on the chopping block, some convinced it was personal. It wasn't and isn't.


I just wanted to be committed to my creativity, I wanted to understand what I like to paint, what I want to make, and what my goals are. Not just the ones influenced by trends and success, but the ones that come from me.


And I've realized my goals are so boring:

  1. I want to be a technically good painter.

  2. I want to like what I make.

  3. I want to not have to rely on my social media for sales.


But at least I know they're honest and not chosen from a place of vanity (like the one about my drool-worthy, multi-million dollar studio space I dream up).


Instagram skewed my perception on what being an artist looked like the same way lack of education about it, teachers, and professors did before social platforms came into the scene.


It is 100% my double edged sword and minimizing my time on it lets me recenter and find my way back to why I'm even making art to begin with (I actually do like to make art).



How do I use Instagram as an artist now?


I use it as a cry for help.



PSYCHE. (I will single-handedly bring this slang back.)


I use it to look at memes. Look at tattoos. DM friends. Post things of varying degrees of interest, each one becoming more casual and less buttoned up by the day.


It's helping me peel back the layers of perfection and presentation and allow those who might be interested in my work and my journey and me, a closer look. I use it to share my work in a very bare bones way.


For the most part, I don't spend hours editing content and making sure each photo makes you want to weep from jealousy anymore.


My life is messy, my work is unpredictable, and now I have little time to make content because I want to be an artist not a content creator.

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