If you’re an Instagram hobbyist, someone who likes to post when the mood strikes, and/or not looking to use the platform for business and monetary gain, this post is probably not for you.

However, if you’re serious about Instagram, throwing a lot of things against the wall to see what sticks, and/or losing sleep over the follow/unfollow game, keep reading.

Getting unfollowed on Instagram is sort of like finding out your recent ex started seeing someone new. On one hand, you expected that it would happen eventually, but when it actually happens, you just feel icky.

The unfortunate reality is, unfollows happen all the time. In fact, I’m probably getting unfollowed right now as you’re reading this line of text.

Hashtags are to Instagram what keywords are to Google. They help you get discovered on an exceptionally crowded platform.

But if you’re misusing them, skimping on them, or straight up skipping them altogether, you’re doing your account a huge disservice.

And with today’s increasingly aggravating algorithm, us baby accounts need all the help we can get.

Over the past nine months, I don’t recall gaining weight, I was never showered with burpee blankets, and I definitely didn’t endure any labor pains.

Yet one day, in the midst of hashtags, double taps, and overwhelming notifications, I was sworn into a life of motherhood. That was the day my Instagram infant was born.

She didn’t exactly come into this world kicking and screaming, but she’s been a champ at keeping me up late, waking me up early, and essentially controlling my every waking move.