I haven't downloaded Threads yet

on waiting

Last week, Threads debuted on the App Store to a whopping 30 million people within seven hours.

I was not one of those people.

It brought back very familiar feelings and fears of my influencing days, mostly just the memories of the need to be “on” all the time. (And wait… get this, I freelance in social-adjacent copy work and am still able to get the gist of Threads without actually using it.)

With each new Instagram app update (Stories, IG TV, Guides, Reels), I’d go into panic mode and automatically download it, filled with anxiety as I watched my peers download and use the new Instagram features with grace and joy. I hated that within minutes I’d be expected to adopt it, be a pro at it, reach tip-top engagement, and still seem like I loved my job. 

The day IG Stories came out was August 2, 2016. I remember watching [insert certain other wellness bloggers] post their first Stories, greeting their audiences and smiling/waving at the camera while saying, “So excited to be here!” I remember panicking and thinking, “I am not excited to be here; I am flat-out afraid.”