Why I Don't Use Hashtags

and I'm not sorry

Trout Lake / near Telluride, Colorado / September 8, 2025

I don’t use social media the way most people do. I post to Instagram almost daily, but I don’t use hashtags, I don’t label locations, and I don’t advertise to solicit more followers.

What I do is very simple. Every day I post one photo I took somewhere in my real life during that day. No filters and no modifications, no pretty graphics and definitely no music. I do allow myself to crop.

I started doing this as a daily practice of mindfulness, to help me pay attention to the small moments of my life. I was inspired after reading The Art of Noticing, by Rob Walker. His book lists 131 ways to spark creativity in your everyday life.

In other words, I primarily use social media for me. Doing this daily mindfulness practice changes where I direct my attention. Now I actively seek out beautiful scenes, wildlife, wildflowers, skies and clouds. Because of this, I pay closer attention to the small details throughout my day. I actively look for quirky things that stand out from the typical day. No matter where I am, I scan my environment for anything that catches my attention for a photo. It doesn’t have to be spectacular, it only has to speak to me. Because of this habit, I pay attention to my days differently.

And now my partner will notice these things too and he’ll offer to stop the car anytime for me to take my “pic of the day.” So he’s on the lookout for beautiful scenery too. My search for ordinary beauty has become contagious.

Which makes me realize that social media isn’t entirely good or entirely bad, it really depends on how you use it. It seems there’s three ways we can use social media differently:

1. We can use it to either passively consume or actively create.

2. We can use it either passively observe or actively connect.

3. We can use it to either passively compare to others or actively celebrate with others.

If we use it to passively scroll, observe and compare, it’s more likely to negatively impact our mood and mental health. If we actively use it to create, connect, and celebrate, then it’s more likely to spark joy, because we’re being active with our engagement.

Today, with all the amplified news alerts and crisis of the day, it’s so easy to be crushed by the awfulness of everything. Everything does feel awful, it really does.

And.

And there’s still beauty all around us.

A friend of a friend is an ER doctor and he says the way he survives all the daily tragedy of his job is to “focus on the ones we save.” That phrase has stuck in the head the past few weeks. We should focus on the ones we save.

One of the most powerful things we can do today is take back control of our attention and decide where to focus. Strengthen the muscle we use to change mental channels, to turn down the hostility and turn up the beauty. I don’t want to give my energy to chaos and outrage. I want to direct my energy where it can have an impact. I want to move towards the things and people that nurture me, that energize me, that lift me up.

I don’t want to ignore what’s happening in the world, I don’t want to deny the injustices or pretend that bad things aren’t happening. The list of tragedies around the world is long.

But I do want to take back control of my attention, and decide where I want to focus my gaze. To scroll less and create more. To compare less and connect more. Now more than ever, connecting with others seems like a lifesaving thing to do.

The poet Mary Oliver said this best when she wrote instructions for living a life:

Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.

I like to think I’m heeding her advice when I notice the scenery of my day and I pay attention long enough to snap a quick photo. I’ll tell about it when I post to Instragram, just in case it inspires anyone else to pay attention to the singular moments of their day. And whenever I have a low mood, I can scroll my own photos to be reminded of all the beauty I’ve encountered in my ordinary life. I can use my own collection of pictures to lift myself up.

May we all pay attention today. And may we all be astonished at the beauty and love that surrounds all the tragedy.

You can find Rob Walker’s substack here.

You can find my Instagram here.

Peace,

== niki

Evergreen Lake Dam / Evergreen, Colorado / September 24, 2025