Are you #studygramming yet?

Social media can be motivating and helpful. But only if you know where to look. On Instagram the hasthtag #studygram is popular with students worldwide. Not to show off selfies or travel photos but to glamourise exam prep.

Studygrammers – that’s what the hashtag users call themselves – are largely high-school students, though they can also be PhD candidates, and in India, IAS, UPSC or other competitive exam aspirants. They largely post images and videos of their study notes. But these aren’t hasty scribbles. The images feature notes presented artfully, in carefully crafted and colour-coordinated settings, as beautiful to-do lists, helpful synopses of subject matter, and, of course, the now-essential motivational quotes. For a generation that records its every move on social media, it’s a surprise that they took this long to turn studying into a performative act too.  

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“I started my studygram account in October 2018, when I first began preparing for the UPSC exam,” says Kitti Bhattacharya, 27, from Coimbatore, who runs the Instagram account @live_to_aspire. “I was really scared as I’m not a young graduate. I felt lonely, studying at this age for such a taxing exam.” Bhattacharya says studygramming is helping her connect with other aspirants. “When I see them working hard, making goal charts, achieving daily targets, it inspires me as well.”

The hashtag has helped students form diverse networks of support. “Instagram is our breathing space in our crazy schedule. I’ve connected with accounts like @just_another_aspirant and @letsupsc to stay motivated,” says Bhattacharya.

Online, studygrammers share hacks, study techniques and tricks, and discuss the struggles they face. “Since I began studygramming, I learnt that taking breaks is okay, and it’s nothing to feel guilty about,” she says. 

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The term throws up more than 4 million posts from around the world on Instagram. Users like @emily_studies from England remain largely anonymous, but have amassed 175k followers. Mary Beth @maryberrystudy, an American student of cell and molecular biology, has 159k followers. Her feed largely focuses on bullet journaling, an artistic form of priority-based listing-making, which has it’s own following under the hashtag #BuJo.

For adults who’ve worked out time-management through trial and error, the tips seem obvious. For a generation governed by algorithms designed to distract, studygramming dismantles the system from the inside. Indian studygrammer @becoming_ias, who prefers to remain anonymous, says he started his feed in January after running out of motivation when preparing for the UPSC alone. He generally puts up pictures of books he is reading, highlighting sections, and e posts motivational quotes.

“Seeing other people studying and meeting their targets pushes me too,” he says. “I also want to document my journey. If I become an officer, I would love to look back on it.”