Would I Still Be Creative If I Stopped Posting on Instagram?

What happens when your creativity no longer lives on a grid?

I used to post on Instagram all the time. Since 2018, I’ve been so consistent. Styling, shooting, editing, writing, curating—multiple times a week, every week. Instagram felt like a true creative community and a place to share, grow and experiment. I had endless ideas, and even better, I had the energy to execute them.

Some pics circa 2018.

But in the past six months? I haven’t even had the motivation to scroll down my timeline. And it’s not because I had a baby.

I have content sitting on my phone. Good content. Content I should be posting, content that once would’ve made me excited to share. And yet? I don’t even feel like editing it. It’s just sitting there. Unposted. Unshared.

And what’s wild is I know I’m not alone in this. I’ve heard big-name creators—people with six-figure followings and brand deal after brand deal—complain about their engagement. I’ve sat on Meta calls where the Instagram team has literally told me, “You’re doing everything right.” And still, my engagement has dropped, my following has plateaued, and honestly? Posting doesn’t feel like art anymore. It just feels like content. And that shift is what has been messing with me the most.

Is It Even Fun Anymore?

At the beginning of Instagram, the app felt like a digital creative renaissance. It was this exciting new medium where people had unique style and engaged with other creator’s content while building community, but now creativity feels flattened.

Scroll for 30 minutes, and tell me if I’m wrong.

• Same trending audio.

• Same overused transitions.

• Same copy-paste aesthetics.

Even fashion has become one big Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V. TikTok has recycled the same “It-Girl” uniform for three years straight. On Threads, I see the same post repackaged and repurposed by 50 different people. It feels like nobody is original anymore.

And if I’m being honest, it’s killing me softly.

But here’s where I have to check myself: Not posting doesn’t mean I’m not creating. I still take photos. I still write every day. I still develop ideas and concepts. I still pour myself into Substack. If Instagram disappeared tomorrow, I wouldn’t stop. My inspiration comes from architecture, nature, people-watching, and books—not the algorithm.

So why does not posting feel like I’m doing nothing?

Posting Is Proof, Right?

We all say, “Instagram is a portfolio,” but do we really mean that? Or is posting just proof that we exist?

I wrestle with this constantly. I know I should be updating my portfolio. I know consistency matters.

And I don’t want to operate from a place of fear. I don’t want to post just to keep up. I want my creativity to evolve outside of the algorithm, to be timeless.

But that’s the dilemma, isn’t it?

Part of me wants to get back to being super consistent.

Another part of me wants to post just enough to remind people I still exist.

Where Do We Go From Here?

I don’t have the perfect answer, but I do know this:

1. Social media should work for me—not the other way around.

2. Not posting doesn’t make me feel less of a creative.

3. Posting doesn’t have to feel like a job.

I still want to create. I still want to share. But on my terms.

For now, maybe that means posting when I want to, not when I feel like I should. Maybe that means choosing platforms that inspire me—right now, that’s Substack.

Or maybe it just means that sometimes, sitting with your creativity in private is enough—for the time being.

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