Introduction

TRP is a toolbox. Some of us want a healthy LTR, some of us want to plate a harem, some of us want to go their own way (if so, stop lying to yourself). Our tools are the different aspects and techniques of game, and the higher our SMV, the more efficient our tools. I've seen lots of my fellow young people touting Instagram as a great tool for things such as pre-selection, DHV, and networking in general. None of this is incorrect; I used instagram quite successfully over the past 18 months, and it has been clearly beneficial to my social life in many ways. I recently deleted the app to clear my head out and focus on writing. In this post I'm not going to argue whether it's a good tool, but rather why you shouldn't be using it as a tool anyway.

Disclaimer: this is mostly targeted to under-25s; we are the ones who use social media the most and find it hardest to stay away from it.

The Cards are Stacked Against you

My argument against Instagram is centred around the fact that Instagram simply does not work in your favour. The young men reading this post (and the young man writing it) are not ripped business moguls or athletes who already have pussy on-call. Yet it's these men that are most likely to benefit from the instagram business model. Instagram works for sexually attractive women and the men who photograph them. It is a marketplace of attention and validation that 1) you won't get and 2) you simply do not need. It does not help you to have photos of your gym progress on instagram. Those 70 likes on your beach holiday photo aren't getting you anything but vacuous dopamine. The amount of time it takes to post and interact with Instagram is not worth the returns.

For those of you who try to use it for game - you simply don't know how much attention women get on this app. It's shocking. I've always been in favour of keeping female friends around (girls that I don't want to fuck or plate). Go and have a look at the sheer quantity of attention they get. It'll shock you. Seeing Instagram from a girl's perspective should be more persuasive than anything I can say in this post. My question is - what differentiates you from the hordes of guys plaguing her DMs? If you truly are different because you have a high SMV, why are you DMing an instahoe? You'd get better results in bars, clubs, and maybe even tinder. Moreover, some girls get so much attention that she might not even see your high value request for bob and vagene.

Instagram is not for you.

But What About Me?

As in most posts on TRP, there will be responses along the lines of 'your advice seems valid but I'm a special snowflake and it doesn't apply to me because xyz.' I've chosen to pre-empt this by listing some special snowflake exceptions to my advice

1) You already have high SMV and a large instagram following that works to your favour with girls and social life. I'm talking about upwards of 3-4000 followers with high likes and engaging comments. This is genuinely the kind of following that it takes to garner 'useful' attention. It took me about 8 months to build and maintain 3000 followers and I'm certain the time spent doing so could've been used to fuck 10x more girls just by going out more. Response: firstly, I doubt it helps as much as you think. Secondly, if this is true, good job, maintain it until the next big social media trend starts and try and use your success as inertia for the next trend.

2) you're very attractive/high social status but don't have Instagram. Response: unless you're a minor celebrity, don't bother - the returns won't make up for the time lost.

3) you have a business, you're a musician, photographer, artist. Response: You could probably use Instagram to your advantage if you're good at your trade and have a big social network surrounding it. You could also use it to build your currently small network. But use it for this only. Don't be the creep who uses their business account to reach out to random girls. If you do use Instagram to promote your trade, then do your research, maybe even pay for a social media service, and most importantly, ensure that your returns are worth the time invested in your account.

Final Thoughts

Going back to my initial point - TRP is a toolbox. If Instagram truly works for you, you're probably already in a small minority of very high SMV and social status men. In this case, keep using it. But to the 99% of young men reading this post, you're not. By the time you are (if that's your goal), the big new social media app will be something different.

If you care deeply about your Instagram, then deactivate it for 3 months. Just 3 months. 90-100 days. See how much better you feel after a few months without it, then decide for yourself whether you want to re-download it.

I'm still new to writing content online - I welcome any criticism regarding my style/formatting, and feel free to engage with my content too. Have any of you found ways to use Instagram and reap returns worth the investment? Have any of you noted dramatic changes to mental health after downloading it or deleting it?

EDIT: I highly recommend this new documentary that just came out on Netflix - 'The American Meme.' Listen to the celebrities talk about how depressed and self-hating they are.