There are some social media platforms that we like. There are some social media platforms we question. As a site for all things creative, inspiring, and wonderful being in a place of thirsty, desperate wannabes employing questionable means is not for us. Taking all of this into consideration, Black and Paper has decided to quit Instagram.

Endless narcissism, relentless self-promotion, and less than transparent followers means a lot of effort but not sure about the end results. The Instagram skills of a pictures using filtered effects or daily selfies have become a source of mass appeal, not in our book. Black and Paper supports real talent; artists, fashion designers, writers, and photographers and all other creative types.

Do we hate Instagram? No! But we feel as a site it is no longer in the spirit of social media. There are only so many product placements, advertising, and partnership hashtags we can endure in threads. After seeing influencers with multiple images of different brands, many in the same product category, writing the standard commentary including “love my new,,,” or “favorite”, sooner or later authenticity will become an issue. One influencer we have watched, with “thousand of followers”, endorsed or promoted seven different sandal brands in 2 weeks. Instagram has become a full time lifestyle for some, a source of validation, a fast route to fame, a way to live vicariously.  Our online presence is not motivated by those behavior patterns. We try to keep it REAL!

Lastly, we do not understand algorithms of Instagram. What makes an image popular? Buying “likes” from bots. Daily pouting selfies. Using a certain filter. Specific hashtags.

Black and Paper wishes the people who are successful on Instagram more success. For us, it was better to leave than continue.

Black and Paper would like to thank its on Instagram followers.  Please follow us here and on other social media outlets.