Instagram is my favorite social media because you don't have to put up with political BS, fake news, or other people's idea of motivational verses. Plus, pretty pictures!!! I like to use it for travel planning because you can get a good feel for a destination or hotel by looking at other travelers' photos. And, I enjoy reliving places I've been, like Maui. It's also great for finding new things to do around town when you follow local instagramers.
Unfortunately, over the last few months, it seems to have turned into a pickup joint. Despite my having a tiny profile picture and zero selfies, I'm getting weirdos all up in my business on a daily basis. Most of the DM's go something like this: "Hi there beautiful. How are you?" I guess they really dig my buddah bowl photos?? I decided to post the following on my homepage:
*This (handclap emoji) is (handclap) not (handclap) a (handclap) dating (handclap) site*
The only thing that did was make my oldest daughter send me a text with 50 question marks. And while I could set my page to private, that kind of defeats the purpose of finding and sharing photos. So, I guess I'll just keep using the delete button. For now, please enjoy a taste of some of my 'followers' profiles. Punctuation is all theirs. Italics is me.
James B Williams: My work my pride (laughter emoji) Enjoy doing what I'm called for (ok emoji) . . . It doesn't matter who we are. We all have our successes and failures . . .learn from mistakes His photo has a mask and scrubs, so I guess he wants us to believe he's a surgeon? Hope his failures are in the bedroom and not the operating room!
Kawsu: Hello I am kawsu I lost my parents I am staying with grandma and slibings ..I love to watch slibings playing (link to a whatsapp.com account) Nope, not suspicious at all.
John Garry: I have no time for games,I am nice man with good sense of humor (sun emoji) Your lack of articles makes me think that you are playing games because there's no way your name is John Garry.
dave Johnson: I'm Dave Johnson the powerball lottery winner of 2019, am here giving out $30000 to my followers and I'm picking randomly till I got 5k followers. Congratulations, Dave! You are now at 231 followers. Only 4769 to go! Wonder why your account is set to private?
David: If dog are not in heaven then when I die God please take me to where they are! Trying to appeal to dog loving women? Sorry, Bud, you are barking up the wrong tree!
Have a good week and watch out for scammers!
Your responses made my day!! I'm still giggling at some of them. I opened up an Instagram account about a year ago and have had my fair share of weirdos. While I typically just ignore them, I may have some fun with them like you. I know of a certain cat that attracts some fun Instagram personalities too. :) As far as the political posts, I'm so ready to get rid of Facebook over it. People think because they have a platform that they should preach. I want to scream, get off your soap box and share something unique and happy!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSadly, I end up unfollowing half of the people I know on facebook because of the political posts. I don't care what side you're on; keep it to yourself! The preaching is out of hand. Back in the old days, you didn't talk about religion, sex, or politics. The internet has made it a free for all!
DeleteLove your responses, especially to the surgeon! I never post on Instagram, but if I win the lottery (which will be a double miracle since I don't play), I'll become more active :)
ReplyDeletewww.thepulpitandthepen.com
That guy takes 'buying followers' to a whole new level!
DeleteOMG, these are all fabulous! But the first one (James B Williams) made me laugh out loud. Your retort was HILARIOUS!
ReplyDeleteWOW...I'm totally surprised by the amount the weirdos you're getting lately. I wonder if it has something to do with people being on lockdown and they're going stir crazy.
Over the years, I've gotten a few "suggestive" weirdo DM's and comments left on my feed (maybe 2 0r 3 at the most), but not much. I immediately delete them though. I also have another Instagram feed that ties into my personal shopper blog, where I've gotten a few "odd" followers. I think because my business caters to mature women and has photos of older women, some people must assume I'm into something kinky. HA!
I too enjoy Instagram. It's awesome for people like me who enjoy photography. I've met some amazing photographs through Instagram
Fun post, my friend! Hope you're having a great week so far! X
I'm glad I made you laugh, Ron. Yes, it's definitely ramped up recently, so I suppose lockdown brought out the looney birds. I've had my account for years with no issue until 2020. Lol on the weirdos following your personal shopper blog! I can only imagine what or who they are after! Bahahaha! And yes, I know you've discovered some very talented folks on Instagram! Enjoy your week!
DeleteInteresting - I don't have an Instagram account - I have so many things going round in my head as it is I might go crazy! lol
ReplyDeleteIt can be a really interesting site, but like everything, a few bad apples can spoil it.
DeleteWow, who knew? I don't have any weirdos DM'ing me for dates on Instagram. I don't know how to feel about that.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, on Words With Friends of all places, I sometimes have random women start games and then try to woo me with fancy pickup lines. I just assume they're all trying to get me to visit their XXX pay sites or something. I mean, I know I'm charming and all, but there has to be a catch.
I would not have thought there'd be female creepers on Words With Friends. You do have to assume these people aren't really looking for sex as they are long distance. So, yes, probably wanting to scam us money-wise. Or looking for web cam sex? Anywho, next time I post a photo at a cemetery, you can chuckle that it's caught some weirdo's eye! LOL!
DeleteI love your comments back LOL. That's why I made my Instagram private. I get requests and I check out their profile and delete their requests. I learned my lesson on Words With Friends, lol, about scammers. I'm in an email group for prayer with 3 ladies. Anyway, one lady, a widow for the third time last November, has been taken by scammers. Her last husband wasn't a scammer but an interesting courtship; that's all I will say. Anyway, she mentioned yesterday she's been texting with a man who is a widower who has a 14 year old son. She says she doesn't think he is a scammer but I'm screaming (in my head) YES HE IS. Hopefully she'll catch on sooner than later. I am rarely on Instagram these days. Too much social media and not enough time LOL.
ReplyDeletebetty
Wow! Another person who's had issues with Words With Friends! Yes, I've learned my lesson with scammers a decade ago when one invaded a Christian message board I was a commenter on. I got suspicious early on when she wouldn't answer direct questions about her 'medical condition.' Fortunately, she got busted before anyone sent her money, at least that I'm aware of. Your widow friend needs to start watching Catfish or 90 Day Fiance!!!
DeleteGlad I'm not on Instagram! Or any social media except Blogger and Facebook. I don't want to be flooded with spam. Right now I get very little spam because the BT firewall is excellent.
ReplyDeleteI get the most spam on my blogger email, but most of it goes straight into the spam folder.
DeleteI love your responses to these bizarro messages, Bijoux! . I've got a few DMs from some porn sites--which I immediately delete--honest!-- but nothing like the stuff you've gotten. Women haven gotten stuck with this crap for far too long. But at least you have a sense of humor about it!
ReplyDeleteI was creeped out at first because it felt like stalking, but since all my photos are of places and things, not people, it didn't feel as scary.
DeleteI don't have instagram and after reading your post I'm glad. I thought it was just a place to show pretty pictures. Now you are making wonder what kind of messages my daughters receive!
ReplyDeleteYes, definitely ask them. And now you made me realize I need to ask my own!
DeleteOh my word, weirdos get everywhere. I love your responses. I have an instagram account but I don't post regularly. I follow a few miniaturists and dog lovers. I agree about the political BS, fake news, and motivational verses, it's relentless, which is why I've stopped using facebook.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed my responses. Even though I'm not a dog person, I do follow Frank the Weiner because I think daschunds are adorable. Check him out! And yes, those 'Happy Tuesday' posts on Facebook make me crazy.
DeleteHA!! Loved your responses. Fun post.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it!
DeleteYou're making me gladder and gladder that I never got on Facebook, or any social media other than Blogger. Honestly, I had my 'obsessive' phase with just blogging, don't need another,more seductive reason to go there. . .
ReplyDeleteI do participate in a (very) few theological/philosophical chat sites, but the political trolls can make life miserable sometimes. . .
Awww, the good old days, when we posted twice a week! I'm only on one forum type of site, and even though it specifically says no politics in the guidelines, people can't seem to help themselves. Or they will deny that their comment was political.
DeleteIt is undeniable that on social media there are certain people who dare to say, and invite many things that are not supposed to. I also experienced the same thing. I usually block their accounts to react to this.
ReplyDeleteYes, blocking them is the way to go.
Deletehahaha oh, I get so many of these fools it isn't funny. Women and men. I just hit block and delete and be done with them. I've strung a few along just to see what they'd come up with with their bad english, but that's about it.
ReplyDeleteYou're on there? Obviously you are if you posted about it lol stupid question. Hmmm don't think I found you there at my lair.
I will look for you and send you an obnoxious DM.
DeleteI'm hardly ever on Instagram. I jut don't like it as much as twitter. lol Now on Twitter I get crazy dm's. lol
ReplyDeleteI’m on Twitter but don’t use it anymore. People were way too vile!
DeleteI've never been on Instagram (or Pinterest or Twitter or any social media other than blogging and facebook), so I'm blissfully clueless about the whole experience. Sounds like I should keep it that waY!
ReplyDeleteI find Instagram to be the best social media out there, but everyone has their own needs and interests.
DeleteI abandoned my Facebook account many years ago. I have lots of Facebook horror stories - but I'll merely say that they demanded too much personal information, and when I refused to comply they gave me a very difficult time.
ReplyDeleteI opened a Twitter account a few years ago, but - believe it or not - I had NO idea what to say. I finally decided that I'm not the Twitter type, so I closed my account.
I've been tempted to join Instagram, but after reading this post I think I'll scrap the idea.
I feel fairly "safe" with Blogger because I feel like I'm just talking to myself. But I have a habit of saying too much....
I didn’t give facebook any of my real info, like name and birthdate and location. There’s no reason for them to have it. I do like Instagram for the most part, but it’s annoying that a few try to ruin it for everyone!
DeleteI've gotten to the point that if someone send me a message on Instagram, I immediately block them. This isn't for people I know though, but random "hey girl" (because those are always the weight loss wraps/itworks/avon type of housewives that just want me to buy their crap or some dude in India or Pakistan that wants me to be his sugar mama. I've scaled way back on my use of the platform lately, but I do use it to hunt for cool spots when we travel that I would have otherwise missed.
ReplyDeleteI do block anyone who sends me a DM, but haven’t blocked the random weird follower. Lol, yes “hey girl” seems to be their favorite opener! And you can’t beat Instagram for travel ideas.
DeleteI don't block the weird random followers either since I assume they just like travel ideas (that's about all I post on mine). But the messages? Nope. Not playing that game.
DeleteHahahahahahahaha!!!! This is exactly why I have my profile set to private. It didn't used to be... Until all of that up there. Those freaks will continue to find you. My favorite ones are the ones who clearly do not use English as their first language. They'll say their name is Josh or Beau or Trevor and YOU KNOW their names uses all of the letters of the alphabet in real life. Which, nothing wrong with that so why not use a fake name at least from your own country. - Also. Find me on Insty! :)
ReplyDeleteNope, they aren’t fooling us with their online English lessons! Lol, the fake names do kill me. There’s a woman on 90 Day Fiance who desperately wanted to believe in her online romance with a guy in England who’s name was “The Williams.” No red flags there! I will look for you on Instagram.
DeleteWhose. This autocorrect doesn’t know English either!
DeleteI Just roll eyes to quote your wording :
ReplyDeletedon't have to put up with political BS, fake news, or other people's idea of motivational verses.
Yes agreed.
I can’t take all that anymore. I’m finding myself following local businesses more than people.
DeleteI think I'm now scared to jump into Instagram! Yikes! I have a page and was getting some followers before I'd even posted anything. I get that friends might do that, knowing me or people following from FB, etc... but strangers? Why? No messages though, whew! Now I have 1 photo up, the center of a sunflower. LOL Because I do post some political things on FB ( a lot of other stuff too though) and see friends/fam politics and drama too, it definitely feels like too much negativity at times. My son told me to get away from it and get more involved with Instagram for a while. If I don't get weirdos... maybe it could be fun.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I’m sure there are people who get political on there, you can avoid it. I mostly follow national parks and wineries!
DeleteOn the flip side, I regularly get followers and messages from 'models' looking for a 'friend' to chat with ......
ReplyDeleteWell, that’s kind of sweet now, isn’t it?lol
Delete