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Pole dedicated Instagram when you have a professional day job?
Hi all,
I have been wanting to start an instagram account dedicated to poling for some time now as a way to connect with others in the poling community and have a place to share my struggles and successes related to pole. The biggest thing holding me back is the worry that a current or future supervisor at work and/or a client will come across my instagram posts and it will cause problems for me professionally. Poling brings so much joy to my life, adds to my well-being, etc., and in a perfect world it should be as benign as sharing posts about any other fitness oriented activity I participate in. Of course, I realize the reality is there is still some stigma attached to pole and people may not always see it for what it is. I fear this may especially be the case in a professional working environment where “professionalism” and keeping a lock on social media is strongly suggested. I was wondering if any of you have also faced the same fears and created an IG account for pole regardless (and how that worked out for you) or have decided against it? Also, is it possible to have a public IG account without your name attached and have people you interact with at work not find it unless they are searching specifically for pole related content on instagram? I feel like I have been an IG pole community spectator for too long and would really like to be more of a participant in this community of awesome/driven individuals! I really appreciate any input anyone would be willing to share. Thank you, Veena, for providing a platform of like-minded individuals to share this question with!
Thanks,
AerialJoy
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7 Replies
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You could try having a secret Instagram account but research the way facebook,instagram,phones,ipads and computers link automatically. You might want to consider a seperate device for your pole IG (like a new phone or at least sms card) as well as making all new accounts (email) associated with the pole IG from that device.
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I have the exact same problem. I did start a second insta under a new email but they did link it to my Facebook at first. I had to do some work to unlink it and honestly I still haven’t posted anything on it. Even tho the account is listed as private! I really wanted an account as well to interact with other polers and get encouraged, pole has been a huge wonderful part of my life that I love! But I’ve been so stuck on whether I really want to take the risk in a world where I had someone complain at me about my eyebrow ring last week. Anyway I’d love to hear what others have done about this!
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Thank you @Cherished for your suggestions, it sounds like a lot of work, but based on @travelerunderstars post it does sound like it is so tough to keep everything un-linked. @travelerunderstars, I am so glad I am not the only one this choice has been weighing on! I’m sorry to hear someone gave you problems about your eyebrow ring, that is so annoying. It’s sad to me we live in a world where co-workers can talk freely about yoga, running, and various other activities in the workplace and would likely never have an issue if they had an IG account dedicated to those hobbies, and yet polers are faced with this dilemma. Thank you both for posting to this discussion, I look forward to seeing what others have to say as well!
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I have an IG account but I post anything. I would like to but I’m too afraid someone that I know can see it. I’ve been poling for 3 years now and when I discovered the pole, I was so exciting that I speak to my sister about my new passion. She didn’t talk to me for a while. I had my lesson. I use IG to look other polers and thats it. 🙂
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I am also on the same boat. My instagram account is currently set private because of that and no one at my work knows I do pole. Even though My workplace support fitness and a balance in work/life, Most people at my work are quite conservative and judgmental. I have a friend who recently told her boss (who is like a father figure to her) and he freaked out! She had to bring in her teacher and other fellow girl at her work who also poles and at a higher level to explain to her boss it is not what he thinks it is. I agree with you that it’s kinda sad many people still look down on pole fitness. I am also thinking about creating a new account dedicate to pole only.
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I’m so sorry to hear about other lovely polers having issues with family and work. 🙁 Makes me realize how blessed I am to work for a company with a very progressive attitude towards pole. I haven’t set up an IG or facebook yet (I’m so lazy!) so I can’t provide much help with the IG specific questions. I’m not sure what you do for a living, where you live, or what your work environment is like, which are likely going to determine how “free” you can be online.
Everyone else has given you good advice so far to try and keep your IG as private as possible. If you do manage to create an IG that isn’t linked to any other social media you could blur out/distort your face when you post pics/vids. Also, you could try contacting IG support and see if they have any pointers for you, too. My mother tends to be a worry wart so I’m very selective about what I tell her about my poling. She knows I dance and spin but she doesn’t know that I invert or climb…yet. You could treat your IG in a similar manner and only post things you’d feel comfortable showing your coworkers, however, that only works if you’re OK with censoring yourself, and if the people you work with aren’t dead set against pole.
If you decided the risk was too great and you didn’t sign up for IG, would you feel resentful towards your work? If so, that resentment may end up being far more damaging to your career than photos/vids of you on a pole. 🙂
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When my company was a startup, a lot of my online usernames had my first name in them, including here. After it got acquired by a larger corporation, I changed my username here and on IG. Haven’t had any issues, but maybe I’m lucky. My main IG is linked to my FB, and I’ve been lazy about figuring out how to un-link it, but supposedly it’s possible!
If you’re worried about being recognized by people you’d rather avoid, you can always make a stage name and make your videos with extra makeup you don’t usually wear or even a cool mask. Hop on the Pinterest! 😀 It can be really fun!
I’m about to go through making a new IG myself where I’ll put more polished videos than I have on my main account, which is pretty catch-all.
I’m sorry some of y’all have it so much tougher. But our numbers are growing and it won’t be like this forever. @AerialJoy, I hope what you choose feels good!
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