Hey @instagram, it’s not me, it’s you. __ In some ways this post has been a long time coming as I’ve slowly grown more disillusioned with social media. I have found that I'm fighting a losing battle against the Instagram algorithm, influencers who have bought followers or likes, bots that are doing all the liking instead of real users/people. Putting photos up on Instagram and doing blog posts has become more a chore and I don't find joy in stressing about putting a post up at the right time because a website told me it will get the most engagement then. The value of posts seems to be in how many likes they’ve received rather than the content itself - but who knows if those likes are even real? A recent @highsnobiety article I read said: "Instagram’s algorithm polarizes content. We only see the most covetable, rare, hyped end of the spectrum. Everything else falls through the cracks. This informs how many of us post, often exaggerating ourselves and our lives, flexing in the hope our content reaches as many eyeballs as possible." __ I’ve grown tired of trying to get more followers/likes, watching other food bloggers soar ahead as my account remains static. Sure, I could ‘try harder’ and make my content ‘better’ but it all seems rather fake. I don’t want to be a person that cares about likes or followers, but running a blog has inevitably steered me in that direction. __ All this to say that I’m winding down talk&spoon. Thank you to those who’ve come along this journey and been dedicated followers since day one back in 2012! __ The thing I’ve loved most (and the reason for starting this blog at first) is sharing good food with you guys. I always posted hoping you’d be able to enjoy the same experience I had. I know many of you have used talk&spoon as inspiration for your own food adventures and for that I am so, so grateful! Thanks also to the brands I’ve had the privilege of working with! __ The blog and Instagram account will remain up, but won’t be updated regularly. I’m going away soon so you might see some updates, who knows! I’ll be posting what I want (not just food!), when I want, and not worrying about how many likes I get! See you around, folks ✌🏼 http://bit.ly/31OMowK