Hello, Instagram!  

A place where you could only post photos that you took INSTANTLY.
 No importing photos from your camera roll. Your iPhone was being transformed into a Polaroid film camera.
 (INSTA-gram....because it was INSTANT)
It was a pathway to showing your friends what you were doing in that exact second in time.

No face tuning, editing of your body, & NO A.I.

Early Instagram had preset filters you could chose from, all resembling the vintage polaroid look and feel.

A few crowd favs were ......

- Inkwell, Earlybird, & the most popular filter of 2010 - Sierra.

 Instagram had an organic reach method.
Meaning you controlled what you saw, posted, & who you were friends with.

In 2013, Instagram introduced a lot of new key features, hot of the press.
Many we have come to now today but in a more advanced & efficient way. 

Such as,

- Video Sharing. 13 Second videos were all you got in 2013.

- Photo Tagging. You could #TAG your friends profiles in photos.

- Link Sharing in comment sections.

- #SPONSOREDPOSTS became live. Brand networking started to grow, making Instagram THE platform to be on for collabs, ads, & for product views.
 
- The "Direct" feature was introduced. You could send your friends posts & photos directly.

2013 became a HUGE year for Instagram as they hit the goal of 150 Million monthly active users. This blew EX-CEO, Kevin Systrom out of the water.
Systrom resigned in 2018, along with partner, Mike Krieger, due to the platform becoming too big and it felt as if it's lost the point.
 Much how lots of us feel today with modern Instagram & other social media platforms.

In 2025, Instagram has over 3 Billion monthly active users.

3 BILLION ACTIVE USERS.

What once was supposed to be a creative social networking opportunity, has now become a disgusting corporate parasitic mind field. A.I watches your every move.
From posts liked, to whatever you commented, to likes & shares.
Nothing is private & EVERYTHING is spiraling within the toxic modern algorithm.

The platform no longer has creativity at its frontal cortex. Instead we're refocusing on brand promotion, collaborations, & any way together more power & money.
(As if Instagram needed more money - pshhhhhhhh!)

We are now faced with a modern problem on a modern platform.
We seem to have a hate-love relationship with modern Instagram.
Part of me loves being able to get fast information from Instagram or TikTok, but then deep down I'm TERRIFIED that I'm even letting myself use modern social media.
As a society, we've adapted to the algorithm and modernisms of 2025.
Our technology is at an all time high, even more so now with social media.
You basically don't even have to think for yourself anymore.

This is terrifying. Money hungry and power given indivusals have stolen our creativity. The creative process is no longer ours. We've lost ourselves as a community and as a society.  I think it's great if you're using modern social media for YOUR business and shares. Meaning if YOU create the ad and use the creative process to make something and share it with the world. The beautiful thing about modern social media is that it connects you instantly worldwide, with over 3 billion people.
You can find anyone, message anyone, all within 2 seconds. 

This is the part of social media that is on the more positive side. Being able to connect with others who have similar interests as you. At  least it was supposed to be that way. Now you can barely even do that without getting an ad or A.I video on your feed.

Now think about the more buried and problematic issues we've faced in recent years with modern social media.

- Addiction
- Bullying
- FOMO
- Enhanced anxiety & depression
- Sex bots & scammers
- Sleep disruption
- Heightened underage social media usage
- Misinformation 
- A.I ads & fake news
- Privacy concerns for login information and private messaging
- Online predators & easy access to adult sites with no age verification
- Negative self image
- Reduced REAL WORLD interactions
- Suicide rates have grown 50% in the last 3 years due to a toxic modern social media
- Unrealistic expectations & ad/collab pressure


You cannot convince me that modern day social media has more positives than negatives. Seeing it in a physical list form is scary, but it's real, and we HAVE THE CHOICE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Yet, we still go about our everyday lives with this knowledge, because we've "Adapted" to this modernism. 


par·a·site

I know we feel comfortable here. Trust me, I know. We're the host for the parasite that is toxic media. That's part of it. We've stopped having hobbies and real interest because we can log into TikTok or Instagram for our daily dose of serotonin. It's "easy".
That's why we have A.I, that's why social media platforms get so many updates and new features because they're trying to make it "easier" for the user experience. In doing so, they're taking away the creative process & the magic behind creating/using our brains. I don't want to become a mindless zombie, and I'm hoping you don't either.

Here's my proposal. I know the switch won't happen overnight, & I know it will probably take some more convincing, but hear us out.

Do you remember mySpace? What about Blogger or Blogspot? Bebo even?
Those were media platforms that ENCOURAGED you to use the creative process. They encouraged you to use your brain and make the platforms yours. Personalize layouts, add music, blog about whatever you wanted without any controversial comments or questions. You were building a safe space where you could be yourself.
As weird as you wanted to be, with zero shame, and nothing but a community where everyone was in the same boat.

This is what LavishMade IRL is going to be.
This is what we are actively pouring our hearts and brain into everyday for hours.
How do we develop the user experience in a way that's how social media SHOULD have been used back in the day? How do we translate 2010 ideas to 2025 modernisms?

My proposal is simple........

Make the switch.

Switch to LavishMade IRL. 
Build a safe, creative, no A.I community for yourself to share with your closest friends. 
Everything is HUMAN built & monitored, meaning no A.I algorithm or pushing ads you don't want. No A.I police here- meaning if there's an issue or a real threat, a human will take care of the situation.
 Humans will clean up the bugs,  make the updates when needed, & we will never let A.I touch this platform.

Come back to the good old days. 

I've recently had a few people tell me they won't have the "time" to blog. In other words, they feel they don't have the time to use their creative process.
I know it's easier said than done. Knowing you've curated this social media presence on TikTok and Instagram. It's hard to delete something you've worked so hard at creating. Weigh your options. If you LOVE Instagram and how social media is running these days, keep your socials! No judgment. That's your business. 
If you are feeling drained every time you log into a modern platform, consider switching to something that feels more 2000s. A simpler time.
 We encourage you to blog and write and  create your corner of the internet.

Think about what you want out of social media.
This is your ballgame, you call the shots here!

I want to challenge you. 
Pause your Instagram accounts for 7 days.
 Use LavishMade IRL for 7 days and see if your mood has improved.
See how you feel after 7 days of blogging, messaging your friends through Lavish, & creating on our site. If you're not happy at the end of 7 days, by all means hop back on your Instagram horse and ride off into the sunset.

If you feel like LavishMade IRL has made an improvement in your life, we invite you to stay! Create with us & be apart of a growing community.

I want to hear your thoughts on if you agree or disagree! Why do you love using modern social media? Why do you hate it? Let's discuss! 

I hope this has struck the match in your brain & has lit the creative fire you have deep down. Spread the fire! Create something wonderful.

                 
                                                             Celebrate your vibe with us.



                                                                  With love & creativity,

                               - LadyBird // LavishMade IRL Community Coordinator