I’m not a big fan of Social Media anymore. Once upon a time, I used to be a frequent user of Instagram, but these days are long gone. Nowadays, I prefer to spend time on the blog and shooting photos without thinking about Instagram captions. Don’t get me wrong here: I don’t mean that Social Media platforms have no value. No. I’m not just into them anymore.
Last year, I even wrote an ebook about Instagram, which made it to the first page of Google. While I thought of explaining how one could grow an Instagram account, I also criticized the platform. I wouldn’t mind, for example, to pay a monthly fee if I knew that I didn’t have to see ten ads after scrolling for a minute. Moreover, the monthly fee should give the users a vote on future changes. Do you agree with algorithm changes? Or do you want to skip the chronological order?
I don’t see any point in using them if Social Media platforms abolish their social aspect and become just media. However, I’m not going to rant here about a company’s approach. That’s how they imagined their future, and I don’t want to be a very active member of it. I’ll observe their path -and sometimes, I’ll find it cringy.
Instagram captions: why I can’t stop yawning
Yes, I’m well aware that Instagram is a photography platform, but people can use it for micro-blogging too. There’s enough space to write a caption on Instagram, and you don’t have to be a writer to make it look nice. In fact, one of the things that democratized the Internet was that each one of us could write an opinion and stand for it. Sure, sometimes, the Internet looks like a pot of toxicity, but then again, that’s how humans often behave.
Now, to bring the focus back on Instagram, there’s one thing that I can’t stand anymore. And that’s premade Instagram captions. Yes, I talk about all these “deep” and “inspirational” quotes written decades ago by famous or less famous people. Please, no more “There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in” or “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” No more “Never let your memories be greater than your dreams” or “Believe you can, and you’re halfway there.”
No, such quotes won’t match with a sunset photo, a selfie, or an outfit. They will not make your image look better, or yourself look smarter. Everybody knows for sure that this a copy-paste; therefore, why bother? Do we really need inspirational Instagram captions to feel better in our skins? I believe we don’t. So, forget about them because people will start yawning: that’s pure Social Media boredom.
Instagram captions: how to use them
I’m not an Instagram teacher, and I don’t intend to be one. I might as well be the only one who cringes with Instagram captions, and that’s alright with me. But if you feel the same way, here’s an idea (or two) about how you could use your captions instead, without always searching for funny Instagram quotes.
So, here’s what I like to see on IG captions.
- A title. You shoot a photo, and you want to put a title on it. Describe it in five or six words. Or describe how it made you feel. Add a short title and post it.
- Your thoughts. Yes, I love reading people’s thoughts. It’s a misunderstanding that only writers can write correctly. Everybody can write and, more importantly, everybody has the right to express himself/herself. I care about your thoughts more than any motivational quote out there. You don’t need all the nice words, or words that people seldom use. Therefore, just share with your followers what you believe or think or make you stay awake at night.
- A story. Share the story of the photo. Where it is, why did you visit it, what did you do? Did you meet any interesting people? Add it. It gives value to your Instagram post. “To travel is to live” adds no value. We heard it a trillion times, we know it, and we are fed up with it. Your story matters.
- Untitled. So, you don’t want to post the photo without adding a caption? Or, you don’t want to add a title? Then just add the word Untitled. It’s still (somehow) descriptive, and it adds some value. There’s no real title, but everything is there for the viewer to understand.
- No caption at all. If you just care about the photo, don’t add a caption. Yes, it’s alright to skip the caption altogether. There’s no need to write words and phrases if you’re not up to it. Take a photo and post it. It’s not “nude”, it’s a photo without the need for words.
A couple of examples
Here’s one of my photos. I usually add a short title, unless if I want to narrate something. Lately, I save the stories for the blog and not for Instagram captions, though.
And here is one by Efi, with just a hashtag. The photo shines anyway.
On the other hand, Stefan prefers to post his photos without a caption at all.
Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.
Sean is more into shorter, descriptive captions.
Elke prefers to split her captions: it’s a combination of geolocation and short descriptions.
One the other hand, Emina prefers a combination of location, date, and relevant hashtags for her Instagram captions.
Last but definitely not least, Konrad is using his Instagram captions as micro-blogging spaces.
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What’s new on Letters to Barbara – Recap 24
September 2020 was a busy month in terms of writing. After my short summer escape to Donoussa, I tried to get slowly back on track. This month I posted four articles, and I worked a lot on some side projects.
So, the first article of the month was -as always- last month’s recap. My 2020 journey through the alphabet was a somewhat melancholic post: I went through 2020 (even if it’s not over yet), and I wrote an entry about each letter of the alphabet. You can read the article about 2020 here.
A week later, I managed to publish a very long post (probably among the most extensive you’ll find online.) It was challenging to write a guide to Berlin for people on a city break. After living for more than a decade in Berlin, I thought of composing a guide full of local tips, itineraries, and sightseeing. Naturally, you can’t see everything in a metropolis like Berlin, but at least the first-time visitor can get a glimpse of what’s it like living in Berlin. You can read that long guide to Berlin here.
In an attempt to leave this horrible year behind, I also thought of somehow bringing closer the Christmas season. This is, of course, impossible unless you can time travel to the future. But what I decided to write was an article with the best gifts for travelers. I own most of the items I chose for the list, and I have also offered them as presents to friends. I wanted it to be a rather cheerful post that could fill you with (a bit) of wanderlust. So, you can read about the best travel gifts here.
Last but not least, the end of September is always for me a reason to celebrate. While this year didn’t go at all as I planned it, at the end of September, the Letters to Barbara became two years old. This is quite a milestone for sure. Therefore, I dedicated a long post about the things I learned after two years of travel blogging. In this article, I wrote about everything I learned the hard way after blogging for the past two years. I believe that it’s an extremely useful post for people that are about to start their journey in the blogosphere because it deals with hard times and how to overcome it.
So, that’s it with my September 2020 and the Instagram captions ideas.
You can access my previous recaps by clicking here.
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Last Updated on October 10, 2020 by George Pavlopoulos
Interesting reading your post. I actually hate social media and as a percentage get very little of my audience from it. As you mentioned in another post, you’re at the mercy of their algorithm changes. I remember all the work I did getting FB followers about 7 years ago and then suddenly none of them were able to see my posts…time wasted. I often also wonder if there’s TOO much out there – what used to be interesting is now mundane.
One thing I never get bored of watching though – cute or funny animal videos!
Hello Frank,
So glad to see you here. I share your feelings 100%. Apart from YouTube (that I can’t stop using it), every other Social Media platform is totally uninteresting to me. Algorithm updates and severe advertising have destroyed the fun. I just use them nowadays to contact friends and artists that I have (or even haven’t) met through them. Your FB story is actually my IG story. Been working on it for years, and then an algorithm decides the future of Instagram, and it’s all gone.
Happy that you found a funny animal video here too 🙂
Take care, and keep on blogging!
George