Insta-what? I still love magazines! The look, the feel, the smell.
It was September 2012. I remember sitting at my friend’s kitchen table when she asked me if I had an Instagram account. At the time, I hadn’t heard much about it. It’s kind of like Facebook but just pictures, she explained, showing me the app on her phone. I had only gotten my iPhone 4S four months earlier, so all of this was new to me. It reminded me of when I first learned about MySpace or Facebook—one of those moments where you realize that if you don’t join in, you’ll soon be left out of the next big thing.
Thirteen years later, and I no longer have an Instagram account. I found the site too addicting versus the inspiration I used to get from magazines. Looking back, none of us could have predicted what Instagram would become. Over the next few years, it exploded. What I never anticipated, though, was how it would change the landscape of print media, especially one of my greatest loves: magazines.
Before 2012, magazines were everything to me. They fueled my love for fashion, beauty, and culture. I loved magazines, and I still do. There was nothing like the feeling of receiving a fresh issue in the mail, flipping through glossy pages, and savoring every article, recipe, and styling tip. It was an escape—an entry into a world of carefully curated beauty and creativity. As a teenager, I had subscriptions to every major fashion magazine, plus a few lifestyle staples like Cosmopolitan. Every girl my age secretly read Cosmo. We all felt slightly embarrassed to pull it out in front of our parents or boys, but we lived for it.
Then there were the catalogs. Before 2012, brands sent out thick, beautiful lookbooks filled with their latest collections. These weren’t just shopping guides; they were stories, transporting me into the dreamlike worlds they created.
But today? The print world I once adored is vanishing. Where there were once entire aisles of magazines at Target, now there are just a few scattered issues. Google, social media, and now AI tools like ChatGPT have reshaped how we consume information. The final heartbreak for me came in late 2023 when Martha Stewart Living ceased print publication. No! Not my Martha! I loved receiving that magazine every month, filled with housekeeping tips, mouthwatering recipes, and creative inspiration. That’s when I realized: I might be one of the last people still seeking out media in this format.
Maybe it's just me but there’s something about holding a magazine in your hands, flipping through its pages, and experiencing a carefully curated issue in its entirety. Digital media can never fully replace that. But will the artistry and craftsmanship of magazines still exist in five years?
Only time will tell.
-Effortlessly Sophisticated
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