With the influencer game on the rise, people are constantly aiming for higher standards of photos for their ‘grams. But no matter how long you spend perfecting angles or adding filters, you’ll be sure to find someone else’s better post just a few scrolls down.

There are huge positives to creating your online identity and expressing yourself through posts. But aiming for influencer status can be disheartening and serve some massive blows to your self-esteem.

So here’s why we think you should be totally happy with an average Instagram account.

It Can Be Really Bad For Your Mental Health

Social media can take a major toll on a young person’s mental health, especially when “influencer” status posts are the aim of the game.

As this study found, accumulating “likes” on social media doesn’t actually make us feel better or improve our self-confidence.

In RSPH and the Young Health Movement’s #StatusOfMind report, they also found that social media can have a negative impact on our mental health. They discovered that Instagram topped the lot in terms of negative effects mentally. One respondent even said, “Instagram easily makes girls and women feel as if their bodies aren’t good enough as people add filters and edit their pictures in order for them to look ‘perfect’.”

Investing a huge amount of mental energy into taking and editing photos can be a fun process, and many get a lot of joy out of it, but it can also be disheartening when you don’t receive your desired amount of engagement.

Influencer game is hard and tbh, the real deal is so much better anyway. Untying feelings of self-worth to the ‘gram pics you spent far too long on, and uploading a regular picture of the life you live may just be the way to go on this one.

There’s Plenty Of Other Stuff You Could Be Doing

Worrying about your Insta game is exhausting and time consuming. So much time is spent orchestrating the perfect photo for the ‘gram instead of genuinely living in the moment.

You’ll feel a lot better actually working out at the gym rather than getting a photo of your gym wear in the mirror. That bottle of Moët will taste way better just going down the hatch than it will feel arranging it on the bed for a perfect pic.

Spend more time being happy and doing things you love rather than trying to have an A++ Instagram account. It’s OK to upload that selfie with a pimple on your nose, cellulite on your thighs and in $10 Kmart pjs.

You do you, fuck the Insta influencer game.