IG Anxiety? Here’s Why You Should Post the Photos You Want to Post

You’ve done your edits, your filter – you’ve stared at yourself for an inordinate amount of time – you’ve decided five times already that, yes, you should post this photo, and six times already that, no, you should not. “It’s too posed”, you say to yourself – or “too much” in general.

Most of us are familiar with that feeling – the ultimate show of indecisiveness and self-doubt as our thumbs hover a couple millimetres above ‘post’, and we start thinking of every conceivable reason why clicking that button would be the worst decision, like, ever…

The trouble is, we often struggle to be our own cheerleaders. Don’t believe us? Consider how encouraging you’d be if your friend was the one sitting on the fence between posting a photo and deleting it forever, clean off the face of the earth. We worry about what our old school frenemies are going to say about it – what OTT comment our parents will leave underneath it – how Margaret from the sales department will bring it up in conversation on Monday. 

Deep down, we know that it doesn’t matter – and that what matters more is how we see ourselves – but committing to that thought is a lot harder than it looks. 

And you guessed it: that’s exactly why we should challenge ourselves to be exactly who we want to be online. 

It’s the biggest confidence boost you could ask for

When you’re second-guessing a photo – maybe it looks too ‘posed’, or your face isn’t doing the thing you usually want it to do in front of the camera – it’s natural for your mind to jump to the ‘worst case scenario’. But what is that, exactly? 

Chances are, nobody is going to leave a mean comment or, worse still, message you directly, asking what the heck you were thinking. Unless you’ve got Net Zero followers, you’ll amass some likes and some comments, and anyone who’s unfussed by your post will simply scroll on by. 

The best-case scenario, however, is that you get a real confidence boost. Not just from the comments and likes, but from knowing that you didn’t let fear get in the way. Whether you’re scrolling through your IG on a lazy Sunday afternoon or creating a photo book from your Facebook page, that fear-conquering post will always remind you that you don’t limit yourself based on what you think other people will think. 

If you don’t post it, you’re sending the opposite signal to yourself, and your confidence may take a hit. 

It’s the best way to avoid getting ‘stuck in a rut’

While most of us aren’t using our social media pages as a form of self-promotion or brand-building, that doesn’t mean we don’t want to create an attractive, engaging and interesting feed. It’s not self-absorbed to want to put across the best impression possible, even if you’ve got a small number of active followers. 

The only solution to a tired, unengaging IG or Facebook feed is to shake things up – and how are you going to do that if you’re trapping yourself within a box? 

Stepping outside of your comfort zone is hard, but the reality is that most of your followers will be excited to see something new from you – and you’ll have a lot more shots to upload to our photo book maker when the time comes. Whether you’ve been a selfie-dodger until now, or devoted to the ‘cheesy grin’, a change is rarely a bad thing on social media. 

It’s the ultimate tool for creative self-expression

Okay, so it may sound weird to compare posting on Instagram to singing a song or painting a picture, but there’s no denying that social media leaves plenty of room for creativity. While your average, run of the mill selfie may not be the ultimate show of artistry, there are plenty of ways to get artsy and creative with your photos – and this is where your individuality will really start to shine through. 

From stepping outside your usual makeup routine and experimenting with colourful eyeshadow or unusual lipstick shades, to posting photos of yourself loving life without looking quite as photogenic as you may once have wanted, there are so many ways to let your authentic self out onto the page. 

The more you do it, the easier it will get. Sure, you may never totally shake off that feeling that other people are going to judge you but, if they do, then perhaps they could also benefit from a little less IG anxiety, and a little more self-expression.