Pet Social Media: Starting an Account Without Losing the Plot

Why start one at all

Most people start a pet account for one of three reasons: they are running out of patience with friends who did not ask for 40 photos, they want a tidy record of their pet's life, or they fancy the idea of it going somewhere. All three are fine. Being honest with yourself about which one it is will save you disappointment later, because the effort each demands is wildly different.

Pick a lane before you pick a name

Accounts that go nowhere are usually accounts about nothing in particular. "My dog" is not a subject. "A rescue greyhound learning to be a normal dog" is. "A blind cat navigating a Joburg townhouse" is. A lane gives people a reason to follow rather than just double-tap and move on, and it gives you something to post about on the days nothing photogenic happens.

Post the boring middle

The instinct is to post only the greatest hits. But the posts that build actual attachment are the ordinary ones: the same spot on the couch, the specific way they sit when they want something, the walk you do every evening. People follow animals the way they follow characters. Characters need continuity, not highlights.

Where it stops being fun

Watch for the moment you start staging your pet rather than photographing them. If you are repositioning a cat who has made it clear they are done, or withholding a treat for a fourth take, the account has started serving you instead of the other way round. Put the phone down. The account is meant to be a record of a life, not a reason to interrupt one.

A note on the ending

Pet accounts eventually reach a post nobody wants to write. Many people delete the whole account at that point, then regret it. If you can, leave it up. Years of ordinary photographs, in order, turn out to be one of the more valuable things you own.