Instagram Is Boring Now
The lockdown spells the death of FOMO
Let me give you a snapshot of my current Instagram feed: A heavily pregnant friend wearing a face mask. A picture of grocery market owners, with the caption: “Now is the time to support local businesses.” A Zoom screenshot of pixelated dancers. A mermaid taking glamour shots in her bathtub.
The last is the most interesting of the bunch, but even the mermaid’s post didn’t live up to her usual mermaid standards. Instead of majestically floating through a body of water, she was apparently at home, relying on a bath bomb to turn her water a lovely aquamarine.
In recent years, Instagram has become the place for people to perform their “best lives” — from travel influencers, to musicians, to fashion mavens. But in lockdown, there’s less to do, and less to flaunt. Images of the globetrotting hand-holding couple doing their laundry and snaps of van-lifers parked in their parents’ driveway are quickly going from endearing to stale.
