Instamums 3, 2.0

[blackmirror1]

Seeing as the original 3 got zapped.

You're all completely right in your replies to my last comment 😊

I loved @deliciouslystella , but I think from a post I saw the other day that she has 'retired'. It was a characteristically on point post, about how it wasn't fair to continue Stella if she wasn't living her #bestlife

That was a funny account. Love taking the piss out of all the 'wellness' bloggers... but that's a whole other thread.

steelpipes (a while back now) - so eloquently put!

I didn't realise how MOD and FOD were so popular! I like brummymummyof2 but I do feel like a lot of these instamums are just constantly throwing things down our throats! Ads do need to be clearer as someone previously said, you look and think wow look at all the stuff you're buying and it's been gifted! I find MOD and FOD a bit boring really.

Lolly12
Oops correction to my previous message- looks like @deliciouslystella is alive and well. Maybe the 'retirement' was a joke and I fell for it 😂

whilst I agree that it's incumbent on instapeople to be clear about promotions etc, people also need to engage their brains. If people feel easily influenced or led into spending money they don't have or getting depressed about someones 'glossy' life they also need to take a bit of personal responsibility about it. It's not entirely the bloggers fault. unfollow, move on...

Deliciously Stella has been retired as the clean eating jokes are done . She's now herself ie Bella Younger, if I've read her insta right. Not sure what that means, but Deliciously Stella in her original guise is no more, so you were right Esker

Esker
Yes I saw that too. Wondering if she’s just going to be posting less of the health/food spoofs. Would be a shame if she ‘retires’ completely.

I do wonder what sort of shelf life a lot of the accounts will have. Those giving up good permanent jobs must be pretty confident about the long term security.

famousfour isn't that the point, perhaps people would 'engage their brains' a bit better if posts had AD plastered all over them, full of freebies, free holidays, families all dressed in free clothes etc.

Ok, I have a story that I’ve held in for a couple of years.
An instamum was getting comments on a parenting decision she had made and posted several squares about, the comments were something I agreed with although they were calling out the decision.
As ever the mums followers were leaping to her defence and piling on. As I would never have the confidence to comment negatively I dm’d the poster and said I agreed. I thought it can’t be nice to get so much flack for a critical comment.
Anyway the replies to my dm....well they made it clear that it was the IM or their dh trolling themselves and sock puppeting.

At the time I was mortified and so embarrassed.
It actually still confuses me now

TheLadyhasarrived OMG thats taking it to the nth degree isn't it!

TheLadyHasArrived - I don't understand - so the instamum was criticising/trolling herself or she was piling onto those criticising her?! How bizarre

And who did you DM?!

She was her own troll. I’m absolutely sure, she even mentioned my dm to the “troll” on her instastories as if it had been sent directly to her as a criticism.

Love how MoD claims on the excellent @motherpukka insta thread that she always uses #ad first - except of course she doesn't! Also found her first comment on haters and trolls way, way beyond disingenuous. Am still interested to hear from any of the instamums about monetising their children. I am sure there are many of us at the other end of the parenting experience willing to share our experience of social media and young people.

Oh god, that's so much effort to go to. I guess if you want to increase engagement, the comment needs to be more than 4 words to count, then a good troll vs fawn bun fight is just what you want

It did seem like a lot of effort but it didn’t half have the fawns in a tiz, they were commenting in their droves and the instamum kept posting photos and hash tagging the brand and the “troll” kept going. She went on and on about the negativity she was getting.
Now she works with that brand I think.

I have been following these threads with interest as i feel quite strongly on how Instagram is going , i feel i got slightly duped before reading these threads and annoyed with myself, i became intrested in a instagrammer who was focused in healthy eating, i loved her recipes and her whole persona i guess, i looked up to her and seen her a good role model i guess on reflection, I had seen she had poster about her skin care regime and as i wanted to emulate, I brought the face cream it wasnt cheap around £50 something i wouldnt normally spend on a item before as skin cream regime quite none existent! Anyways after i brought that cream i seen after buying her recipe book (which i got after the cream) there was a special which u got money off the skin care 'special line' so she was doing some sort of partnership and i hadnt realised. I was annoyed with myself for i felt falling for it.
The main issue is for me is these people may not actually use the items they flog so to me i was buying into a reality that may or may not actually exist. And i think thats tje issue, followers , follow as they relate to the person they like their clothes or house or products they use, when how much is actually what they buy or use or are they just being given to them. They might start out innocently just posted photos or genuine experiences but then start accepting #ads and they r just flogging the that particular company. So like even there experiences are not genuine because they are being decided by which company is wanting to advertise with.
I whole term influencer i dont like , i idea that the person is influencing their followers on what products they buy.
This may be a long way round of explaining but hope its understood , also sorry for typos as dyslexic

Candice Braithwaite has obviously been watching this thread as her story is all about #ads and certain people going on holiday. I find her honesty very refreshing, she very much wants a Disney holiday and even tagged Disney. She has always been very transparent though and grateful when she gets something. She explained that she does 'unboxing' on camera as she feels she owes it to the people who sent it to her which is actually a really nice way to look at it.

They're all reading. Quite a few are in various Instamums what's app groups.

I wish a person from the ASA would pop on here!

Quite fed up of the gifted situation.

The ad hashtag is so tiny. I wish it would be more obvious it's an advert.

There's several different issues running here. Just watched Candice Braithwaite (had never heard of her before) and quite interesting. Although she seems quite upfront. I see her point, how can you say who is deserving etc, but I really don't think that's the issue.
Destinology gave the Hoopers a very very expensive holiday last year and they are plastered on their website. But other than tagging the company and saying how amazing it was, they did not in anyway make it clear it was a freebie.
This latest week away is with the same company, so clearly destinology think the Hoopers are worth it.
I personally don't give a crap who goes where, I don't think it's true to say we would all accept a freebie. Some I might clearly might but many and Disneyland would be one, I could not think of anything worse. We are not all the same.
Time and again I reiterate it's the use of their children and the past hiding of the truth which comes across as entitlement, which bothers and annoys people. If you are going to spend 4 days a week being an Instagram blagger, just flipping embrace it and be one and drop the pretence.
Even this latest step forward has been laced with, to stop judgdy comments. So boring. We can all see you're all about the freebies and using your kids is something you're comfortable with.
Although where are they 😱 It's been a few hours and no dangling toddlers or posed kids?

@steelpipes post sums up my feelings pretty well.
The co-opting of feminism in terms of "women supporting women," and #bodyposi, whilst at the same time making these exclusive and following a certain aesthetic.

Claiming a body positivity movement from others, but applying it almost exclusively to size 8 -12 bodies and calling one another "brave" for exposing their mainstreamly acceptable flesh undermines the real problems that lie with the representation of female bodies, and can actually exacerbate the issue for many.
The fact that the majority of instamums seem to be in their own exclusive girl gang makes them intimidating rather than welcoming and it does feel very "you can't sit with us." Birthday weekends away where every single woman in the photo is an "influencer" feels very "us and them". Do they not have friends outside of the insta club? Why not? Did they dump them when they became instafamous? I'm a teacher, but not all my friends are teachers, it feels very contrived.

Unfortunately I do feel that I have to mention MOD again, as she is the one that I have experience of shutting down other women. Several of my friends are very experienced independent midwives and doulas who have been blocked by MOD after questioning some of the advice she has given. Why would a professional not want to engage in discussion with and learn from those with twice as much experience as her, I don't understand. And blocking them is an awful way of silencing them.

Lastly, I really cannot buy the whole "this is a new media, we are all learning" excuse. Social media has been around for more than a decade, and on top of that, these people aren't new to being human beings. The same standards of social interaction apply. Whether that's telling the truth about how we acquired goods, looking with discern at opportunities that come our way, being inclusive to others, standing up for others, flaunting our privilege, or using our children for monetary gain. Everyone knows how to navigate these in real life, it's not something of a stretch to apply these to Instagram, surely?