To not understand Instamum culture, can someone explain?

[AbsentmindedWoman]

We all enjoy different things of course, I understand that!

With Instamums, is it the case that it starts out as an account with somebody giving parenting advice or with a flair for telling stories about their experience. But then it morphs into some kind of aspirational lifestyle thing with free stuff?

Is that right? So it almost always ends up changing from the thing that people enjoyed in the first place?

I'm finding the Instamum drama kind of fascinating because it's really alien to me and I say that as someone who ordinarily has a good grasp of social media! I just don't get it.

I totally agree OP, the whole thing baffles me. For various work reasons I am doing a lot of ‘research’ into all kinds of IGers at the moment. I just want to say (as the bitching about them is rife and I really don’t care to be part of that. However, it just seems to consist (for successful sm stars) or sitting round your massive gorgeous house funded by youtube ad revenues, being given insane amounts of expensive free stuff (from designer handgbags, endless cosmetics to kitchenaids and full house refittings!) and and sort of chatting away a bit mindlessly about how you might pop out in a bit or have some mates round. Then instagramming highly staged mega filtered heavily sponsored photos.

Then half their audience fawn over them to a weird degree then the other half rip them to shreds on tattle.

Tis a strange world.

In fairness I am mostly looking at pre-kids youtubers. The mum ones just don’t interest me at all. I can’t WAIT until I’ve finished this project, it’s just such a surreal world and yet such a huge one!

It’s not that hard to get honestly because when people work out they can actually make money from something as easy as posting pics of their dc a lot of people will get involved.

The more you comment and engage the more followers you get so you get loads of people joining in aiming for that £

The nicer it looks the more it is likely, so again people will put up only the best version

Then half their audience fawn over them to a weird degree then the other half rip them to shreds on tattle.

I guess that is a key part

Yes, I first became aware of them as as part of a job I had too! I remember thinking one sounded nice, she basically detailed life with her first kid and buying a house. Must try to remember her name so I can look up and see if she's a big IG star now!

I don’t find people becoming (or trying to) Instamums baffling. Attention and money.

What I really can’t get my around, if the followers that get them there!

What I really can’t get my around, if the followers that get them there!

Yeah, this is what I meant.

Like I said if someone is funny and engaging I totally understand the followers. But if that all disappears as they become 'successful' and the posts are basically just lots of products and holidays, I'm not sure how they stay relevant.

But the thing is there seems to be a massive draw for the staged photos - perhaps then it's quite like the slab magazines I used to read as a young' un.

sleb, not slab

Yes, I totally get why they do it, and actually I expect it's lots harder to make it look 'fun' and 'natural' and not get bored to fuck with it. It just all seems very sanitised also.

I get why people go and have a look, but honestly, after a couple of months of spending a bit of time listening to vlogs, looking at ig stories etc I am SO BORED of the ones I'm looking at and just want them to shut the door to their big mansion and never come out again.