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Yep. Couldn’t agree more. Also so over people ostentatiously announcing they’re “leaving” and then popping back whenever they have something to promote.

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There are few things more dire than the I’m Leaving Instagram announcement.

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Hmm..I did this recently and actually it's an over-simplification to presume those that go do so simply to promote things. You actually feel the loss of an audience you've had for years. This was the case with me anyway.

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Personally I think whatever reasons someone has to quit Insta - whether they have a lot of followers or just a handful - is completely their own choice and whatever reasons they have for returning are likewise completely their own. But the announcements when people leave are tiring, not least of which because it makes the other people who still use the platform feel as if they are somehow doing something wrong by still staying, and also creating an unnecessary rod for their own back should they choose to return.

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Thank you for saying all of this, Poorna. As someone who came over to Substack with zero audience from any other social platform, a lot of this has been so helpful to read.

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Mar 15Liked by Poorna Bell

Always appreciate your willingness to not bullshit but do it without being mean. This is hard to pull off and it's one of the reasons I love paying for your writing 💖

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Really appreciate you and this comment Sarah! ❤️

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This was a good corrective to thinking that which platforms one uses is a sign of virtue. I've concentrated all my social media time on Substack because that suits me for many reasons, including the longer form written content. But my wife uses Instagram, because she's interested in the aesthetics of design for which the visual content is the most useful.

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Thank you for your honesty here! Especially in regards to the dialogue that tells us all we can just grow on substack from a platform of 0. Like you, I feel all platforms serve their purpose and there is no need to slag off one for the other! Another great piece 🙌

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I’ve never really liked the idea of putting one thing down to elevate another. This is the social media version of that. Both have pros, both have cons which will differ from person from person.

I think we all have our biases that inform our judgements but sometimes I feel like we can just take a teeny step back to gain a bit more sight

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Thanks for sharing this very honest take. I don't have a big following on social or Substack and most of my “audience” is made of people I know. (My writing on here definitely isn’t for everyone.)

Of course, we all dream of having the kind of success of the “celebrity Substackers” but it's unrealistic for many of us.

But I like carving out the time to write around my editorial day job and freelance work.

And I love supporting a small handful of talented writers like you (and wish I could support more).

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