5 Reasons Why You Should Not Unfollow Someone On Instagram

unfollow someone

Instagram is the most important social media network to brands and bloggers. Yet, everyone seems to have a sort of love-hate relationship with the app. We’ve all been through finding our style on Instagram, made a few mistakes and tried to make our following grow.

We have probably all be driven mad by people unfollowing us. Let’s focus on this one. Unfollowing someone on Instagram. There are many legitimate reasons why you should unfollow someone. You can’t relate to the person anymore. The quality of their content decreased dramatically. They have not posted in months. You follow too many accounts and can’t see any content you like. They post bathroom pictures. Etc. So yes, many good reasons.

And there are probably as many illegitimate reasons to unfollow someone, my favorites being…

They did not follow you back
Let start with the most obvious and the most annoying one. The follow/unfollow game is fairly spread in the Instagram world and is driving quite a few people crazy. So, how does it work? You follow someone not because you love what they are doing, but for the sole purpose of getting a follow back. Then, you will unfollow whether you got it or not. Self-serving and not genuine, isn’t it? First of all, you should follow others because you love their content. Second of all, following to unfollow will have you blocked by many people or get you a nasty reputation.

They have not posted in a long time.
And by a long time, I mean a few days. A couple of weeks maybe. That is what is defined as a long time nowadays. People want everything right now and sometimes forget that there are other things at stake. Me included. There are people behind each Instagram account who have a life, a job, a tone of things to do. Sometimes, Instagrammers and bloggers are too busy to post (or just don’t have enough content) and will be quiet for a few days. But that is not a good reason to unfollow. You have a life too and other things to do. Let people have some time off social media and be a bit more patient.

They are changing their Instagram aesthetics
I understand that you will follow someone because you love what they are doing at the moment, but unfollowing the minute they do something different is a bit disproportionate. Also, be a bit understanding. Remember in high school when you went through a lot of fashions styles before finding yours? Did your friends stop being your friends? No, they did not. Thus, why would not you give the chance to Instagrammers to test the water and find a style that suit them better? Let them some time to find their identity and new aesthetics before unfollowing. You never know, you might love the new theme even more! Of course, if their feed goes W*F, yes, unfollow!

They do not always engage with you
I think this one is a bit tricky and goes hand in hand with people not posting all the time. Instagram is a social media and is supposed to be social. You will engage with people and when you drop a comment, it’s normal to want an answer. You might not get it straight away. Especially if you post over night. People have a life beyond social media, remember? So leave them a bit of time to reply to all the comments they get. Sometimes they might forget to get back to you but it does not mean they won’t ever. Of course, if someone has repeatedly been ignoring all your comments, then you can unfollow.

They posted something you disagree with or don’t like
This one kind of relate to my third point but not so much as well. 800 million people use Instagram, which means as many opinions and tastes. So of course, you will come across people who have a different opinion. However, that is not enough to unfollow them. One caption does not define a person. One picture does not either. Also, it is good to be open to other’s point of view, it makes us more understanding. This point also relates to sponsored posts. Unfollowing because a blogger promotes a product you don’t like will only make them harder for them to make a living out of it and keep on creating more beautiful content that you love!

If I had been unfollowing people for one photo I disliked or one opinion I did not agree with, I would not be following anyone anymore. Also, I am not saying that you should not ever unfollow someone, I am just saying that you should not be hasty in doing it.

Faux Fur Jacket – Shein
Little Black Dress – LOTD
Cross Body Bag – Shein
Boots – Just Fab UK
Sunglasses – Boohoo

It is always disheartening when people unfollow you. BUT, you should not take it personally. A lot of unfollowing happens for stupid reasons and has nothing to do with you. If they unfollowed, they probably were not active and engaging with your content so good riddance.

Do not think these do not apply to me too. I have very probably unfollowed people for one of the reasons above in the past. Although there was a time when Instagram annoyed me a lot, I am quite happy with it now and forgetting about the numbers.

And again, second degree kind of post, your feed is your feed so feel free to unfollow people if you want.

But don’t be too hasty in doing so.

Do you find it frustrating when people unfollow you so fast? What are the worst reason to unfollow someone on Instagram? Do you agree with any of these?

Thanks a lot for stopping by and reading the post. I hope you liked it!

See you soon,
Love,
Corinne

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39 Comments

  1. March 22, 2018 / 5:32 pm

    I absolutely hate the follow/unfollow trend. Especially when businesses do it – um I could have been a customer but now I’m so turned off I will go out of my way to avoid you!! All the other reasons are totally understandable. I’m pretty bad at replying to comments, and this is a reminder I need to work on it! Thank you!
    Oh, and I’m going over to Instagram to follow you RIGHT NOW. 🙂

  2. March 22, 2018 / 5:33 pm

    Love your outfit in the pics! ☺️

  3. March 22, 2018 / 5:38 pm

    I’ve seen myself unfollowing people from time to time because their content ended up being unrelatable. There were a few times when people started posting borderline NSFW pictures and I didn’t want to be seen scrolling through that. The 5 items you listed on why we shouldn’t unfollow people makes sense. I totally agree with #2, it doesn’t hurt you if someone doesn’t post every day or something. I probably prefer this, so I don’t have a lot to scroll through in a day XD. There’s nothing wrong with people changing their aesthetics either! Thanks for sharing :).

    exquisitely.me

  4. MJ
    March 22, 2018 / 5:41 pm

    I have definitely unfollowed some people for rarely posting but not really if they don’t follow back. All those reasons are valid and l think some of the are ones that we all face on other platforms such as twitter. Everyone wants a follow for follow don’t they? I think because it has been going on for so long, it is difficult to get out of it now. Great topic to touch on. I enjoyed reading this!

    MJ X

    http://www.beeingyou.co.uk

  5. MJ
    March 22, 2018 / 5:44 pm

    I have only ever unfollowed people on instagram because they rarely post. On twitter its a whole different story. Everyone wants a follow for follow don’t they? I do think all these reasons are ones that affect us all on different platforms. Great topic to touch on!?

    MJ

    http://www.beeingyou.co.uk

  6. March 22, 2018 / 7:02 pm

    This is an interesting post as normally posts are telling you reasons why to unfollow someone. I agree I hate the follow/unfollow game cause there is no point to it at all!

  7. March 22, 2018 / 11:51 pm

    You’ve made so many excellent points here! Especially the last one, I try to stay away from sharing my opinions about things on social media largely for this reason. People are so quick to judge from one comment without knowing anything about how or why you have that opinion. I’ll never understand why people unfollow if you don’t post for a few days either. Who has the time to check who is posting daily and remove those who aren’t? The internet is so annoying sometimes! x

    Sophie
    http://www.glowsteady.co.uk

  8. March 23, 2018 / 10:33 am

    The follow/unfollow game is an absolute joke, even on Twitter. I gotta say, I do use Insta but really only for myself just cos I enjoy it. It’s certainly not my main network as a blogger. But I don’t think we should feel guilty for unfollowing someone; I mean it’s our own feeds and we have to see what we want to see. But you certainly shouldn’t be hasty when unfollowing! xxx

  9. Kanra Khan
    March 23, 2018 / 11:43 am

    This follow/ unfollow game is ridiculous on Instagram. There are big instagrammers who use this tactic to get a following and then later unfollow. When I find out that I’ve been unfollowed and converted into just a statistic for them, I also unfollow because it makes me feel horribly used- EVEN IF their content is actually really good.
    Kanra Khan

    twitter || instagram || facebook

  10. March 23, 2018 / 8:14 pm

    You make some really interesting points! To be honest its very rare I unfollow someone on Instagram. I don’t know how people keep up with unfollowing people who didn’t follow them back, I wouldn’t even remember to look!
    The whole follow-unfollow thing drives me crazy though. It’s got to the point now where I don’t follow people back just because they’ve followed me. On one hand I want to support people that are supporting me, but on the other hand I don’t want someone to gain from such shady tactics!

    Chloe ❤ http://www.anomalouschloe.com

  11. Huda
    March 23, 2018 / 8:16 pm

    This is a really great post and I enjoyed reading uf as I could relate to everything you said! For me, the most frustrating is when people unfollow you because you haven’t posted in a few days! That honestly puts the worst pressure on people and that’s definitely something that needs to be stopped! xx

  12. March 23, 2018 / 8:18 pm

    I love this! I find so many people are so quick to unfollow on any form of social media rather than give themselves a chance to enjoy the content you post (relating to the third point), and people who follow you for the purpose of getting a follow back is one of my biggest pet peeves. This has made me realise that I should take more consideration into unfollowing people and let them post the content they enjoy ❤️

  13. March 23, 2018 / 8:22 pm

    Love this post!! The follow unfollow thing is so annoying!! It drives me mad! I notice it more on Twitter than Insta and it’s the worst! I will unfollow if I really don’t like someone’s feed and am definitely guilty of expecting daily posts/stories from bigger bloggers or celebs, I forget they have a life too!

  14. Soffy
    March 23, 2018 / 8:34 pm

    Such a great post! I’m on Instagram but have yet to post on there but have read about the follow/unfollow game and I just think it’s quite unfortunate that many are just in there for the numbers and not the actual content.

    Soffy // themumaffairs.blogspot.com

  15. March 23, 2018 / 9:27 pm

    The follow/unfollow game is so pointless, I never understand it. You have made some really good points here Corinne and your outfit looks lovely! Gorgeous photography! ? xx

    Bexa | http://www.hellobexa.com

  16. March 23, 2018 / 10:31 pm

    These certainly are good reasons why not to unfollow someone on instagram. I never actually thought about it, really!

  17. March 24, 2018 / 6:13 am

    I just don’t like the follow/unfollow game some of them play. I have never unfollowed anyone for any reason. But I have unfollowed those who have unfollowed me. 🙂

    http://glossnglitters.com

  18. March 24, 2018 / 6:15 am

    I just don’t like the follow/unfollow game people play. Just don’t understand the point. I have never unfollowed anyone for any reason. But I have unfollowed people who unfollow me. 🙂

    http://glossnglitters.com

  19. March 28, 2018 / 1:47 pm

    I have to admit I hate the f/uf game and I will uf people who do it to me. That said I wouldn’t unfollow someone just because they don’t follow me back, if I follow someone because I love their feed I always whitelist them so I know they aren’t to be unfollowed on accident.

  20. March 28, 2018 / 3:07 pm

    I hate it when people follow me, I follow them back and literally w/in an hour they unfollow! I use a FollowCop app, so I zap those losers asap. I wish I could put them on a black list for IG. Maybe I’ll create a public list of offenders LOL

  21. March 28, 2018 / 6:22 pm

    I have unfollowed people on Instagram for several reasons; they do not have any uploaded pics, their account is not active, profile seems like a spam account etc. I do not follow everyone that follows me.

  22. March 28, 2018 / 8:40 pm

    What I find really annoying is when you finally unfollow someone who hasn’t uploaded a picture for like TWO YEARS and then straight away they unfollow you. I really do not understand what they think the point of you following them actually is.

  23. March 29, 2018 / 2:04 am

    You make some great arguments. And I love that outfit. Looks great on you!

  24. March 29, 2018 / 5:00 am

    I had never actually given something like this any thought. These are some valuable insights for sure.

  25. Annreeba Joy
    March 29, 2018 / 7:31 am

    These are really good reasons to unfollow someone. I never actually thought about it, really!

  26. March 29, 2018 / 11:35 am

    In the beginning, I did unfollow a few people for various reasons. And then I just stopped. As you stated, if we unfllowed eeryone for every little thing, we’d have no one to follow. So now, I just keep them on my follow list and like the photos, I like and ignore controversial photos.

  27. March 29, 2018 / 4:39 pm

    These are some awesome points, Instagram really is a love/hate platform & there are some days when I adore it & others where I despise it haha, the follow/unfollow game is such a huge problem right now too, I couldn’t agree more with your point about unfollowing just because they didn’t follow you back x x
    Ellis // http://www.elliswoolley.co.uk

  28. Kelli A
    March 29, 2018 / 4:56 pm

    I am one of those people who never unfollow. I personally don’t have the time or energy to devote to checking who is or who is not following me on social media. Love the ones who do and continue to support you and wish the rest the best… 😉

  29. March 29, 2018 / 8:00 pm

    Couldn’t agree with you more!! It frustrates me so much when people unfollow just because someone didn’t follow them back!

  30. March 29, 2018 / 11:43 pm

    I hate the follow-unfollow games, especially if it is a part of such a “follow thread”. This makes social media look like a ridiculous place.

  31. March 30, 2018 / 1:31 am

    I think it’s really important to consider how a person’s instagram affects you. If you’re often offended or feel off with what the person posts, then it’s definitely about time that you unfollowed. I agree with everything you said!

  32. March 30, 2018 / 7:32 pm

    I am not a fan of the follow/unfollow method. It takes away from real engagement.

  33. March 31, 2018 / 4:51 pm

    I used to join the follow for follow/unfollow thread but then realized I prefer my followers to be organic. It is not about the number of your followers but the engagement you are getting.

  34. April 4, 2018 / 2:23 am

    Such an interesting and on point post Corinne! I haven’t dived into Insta as yet but from my Twitter I can see so many people complain about the follow-unfollow game. It even happens on Twitter and honestly lol I just find people annoying. Like why is social media taken so seriously for the wrong reasons. It’s meant to be social and fun! I think Insta should’ve been the most fun and easy to use app with how you can share pics with others and see things from around the world but people are taking it to a whole other level that’s just not cute smh. Great post hun!

    xx Lena | https://lenadeexo.com

  35. Pam
    April 6, 2018 / 11:27 pm

    Thank you so much for sharing this! So accurate and I am so over the Follow/unfollow thing. Especially now that you can use apps that let you know who has unfollowed you the minute you followed back. Obviously, they will get unfollow, so why even bother with this, is a waste of time and they might not realize it, but they are doing double the work for no reason at all. Truly enjoyed reading this 😉

  36. April 12, 2018 / 3:53 pm

    I tend to unfollow people when they haven’t posted for more than week. But then again, I don’t really go through all the people I am following and see when the last time they posted – LOL sooo um, yeah, I generally just keep following everyone.

  37. Eliza
    November 21, 2018 / 4:24 pm

    I’m not usually so petty, but I unfollowed one person who didn’t follow back and now they straight up give me death stares…at church! What do I do?

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