They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so it's no surprise that image sharing platform Instagram is ranked as the most important social network for the majority of internet savvy users. Instagram now has over 300 million active users, who share on average 70 million photos a day; in the six years since its launch we?ve shared over four times more photos than there are human beings on earth. It's easy to consume, fun to curate, universal in language and it's not going anywhere soon. Although the platform started as a fun place to share pictures and tell stories, in the last twelve months its moved towards being an incredibly curated, filtered and edited view of life as we strive to publish content we *think* followers want to see. Gone are the quick snaps in the pub, the selfies in front of the mirror and the shoes we spot in Topshop; in their place are Vogue-worthy images, carefully edited holiday pictures from exotic locations, an awash of white backgrounds and selfies that are starting to look less like a real person every day. I adore Instagram and I'm as guilty as the next person of using flatlays, marble backgrounds and well-lit images of products, but I'm also aware of the fact that my account has to be a true reflection of real life. I'm happy to share pictures of my boyfriend and pets, provide a snapshot into my weekend or showcase some of my purchases, but I've noticed that too many accounts are increasingly concerned about everything fitting into a 'theme' ...