How to Not Care About the Algorithm — Or at least, try to.
Being an artist on Instagram can feel be a wild ride through an ever-changing landscape.
The algorithm often dictates not just the visibility of our posts, but also how we engage with our audience and, ultimately, how we feel about our art.
Creating Resonating Content - And Distancing Myself from it
Previously on Instagram, I focused heavily on creating content that revolved around personal topics like mental health and queerness. It was a space where I could express my thoughts, opinions, and experiences, and to my surprise, what I shared resonated with many.
My posts were met with enthusiasm and support, and I quickly gained traction. It felt incredible to connect with others through shared experiences and identities.
But here’s the twist: while I was pouring my heart into these content-focused pieces, my actual art—the illustrations that truly reflected my evolving style—wasn't developing the way I wanted to. I felt limited by my artistic skillset that stayed stagnant and dictated what I could draw—or rather, what I couldn’t
In addition to that, I started to struggle with the pressure and expectations I felt to create a certain type of content, and the content itself started to resonate with me less and less.
Suffering Under The Algorithm
I realized that my work, although filled with meaning, was often overshadowed by the need for engagement. The focus on text-heavy content meant I was not pushing my artistic boundaries as much as I wanted to.
My art wasn’t improving and I couldn’t manage to draw what was in my head. I was stuck in a loop where likes and comments felt more like validation than genuine appreciation for my growth as an artist.
Because I produced text-focused artworks, no matter how much I worked on the illustration and the focal point of the composition, in the end, it would be the text that took most of the focus and interfered with the artwork itself.
Creating space for text also limited my compositional options, and because I felt the need to create often—especially for awareness days—I didn’t get to recharge as much as I needed.
I also didn’t have the opportunity to work on just one illustration for a long period of time and struggled with having my personal journey and vulnerabilities be something I had to share and create content about.
I started shifting from whole comics or different illustrations to keeping just one illustration and changing the text on each slide. Finally, I abandoned the use of text completely. This here was my last text-including artwork:
Creating Art I Love and Losing Followers and Engagement
Fast forward to now, and I’m thrilled to say that my art has improved significantly. I’ve explored new techniques, styles, and concepts that truly reflect who I am as an artist.
I abandoned the need to create for any sort of deadline and just focused on improving my art—how to draw faces, anatomy, backgrounds, composition, and color theory.
I got back to reading manga and worked towards the style I always aspired to but didn’t know how to achieve, namely a manga and anime-inspired style. Now, I challenge myself artistically with each piece, and I absolutely love my art. I am endlessly proud of the way I’ve improved.
But there’s a catch: my posts showcasing this new work are met with a fraction of the likes and comments compared to my earlier content-focused pieces. It's disheartening, to say the least.
I lost a lot of followers; my posts are lucky to get 100 likes instead of 1,500 to 3,000, and I feel like the algorithm just doesn’t show my art to anyone, so no one gets to see it—which I think deserves to be seen.
Was it worth it?
Absolutely. Choosing to focus on improving my art was the best decision I could have made for myself because it aligns more with what matters to me—my art, not the likes and attention it gets. I love to draw, I love to create, and I try to see likes, comments, and engagement as bonuses, not as integral.
I often click through my own creations, loving what I see. If anyone else sees it, that’s great, and to be honest, I wish I cared less than I still do. But the people who matter—those I talk about art with, my friends—all of them still support me.
While I lost something resembling online fame (if you can call it that), my art practices are much more aligned with who I am now than they would be if I hadn’t changed my approach.
To be clear, this is not shaming others or even myself for before—engaging with online communities about content-focused work was extremely important to me personally.
It’s just not what fits my life anymore, and that is a good lesson in art too: constantly changing, realigning, and trying something new instead of staying stagnant just because it worked previously.
To anyone struggling with this, I can just recommend doing what fulfills you, not what fills your inbox. Create the art you love, even if no one cares about it—it's much more important that you care and others don’t than the other way around.
But the Algorithm is still here - how do I deal with it?
I am still figuring this out, but mostly I try to balance things and check myself. I started creating reels and content about work I’ve already done instead of having to create new things specifically for this.
Reels are more favored by the algorithm, so if you feel up to doing them, then go for it. But remember, it’s more important not to burn out than to constantly produce content.
And very importantly, try to find joy and dopamine outside of seeing likes and engagements. I often find myself checking various platforms to see how well my content is performing, and while it initially feels great, I end up feeling drained and empty because, after all, these are just numbers and not lasting joy.
So, I try to leave my phone in another room, take breaks, and embrace art blocks. I only create when I don’t feel pressure, and I remain aware of my online practices.
The algorithm is designed to keep our attention, and while it’s great that your work gets attention, you don’t have to fit your art or lifestyle to accommodate this.
If you want to follow along with my creative journey, check out my social media profile @shadowbloom_art for updates, tips, and my latest projects. Keep in mind to stay kind to yourself and to log out from time to time!
