5 Things Instagram Made Me Want to Buy

Anyone who has had disposable income thanks to stimulus checks over the course of the pandemic likely knows my plight: sometimes you find yourself scrolling through your feed on your social media of choice, and there pops up an intriguing ad that makes you give pause. My downfall? Instagram. The ads themselves cover a diversity of what the algorithm thinks I may like—anything from books and foreign language courses to jewelry and streaming services. The myriad is endless in its scope, especially with Instagram keeping track of how much time I spend on particular posts or interests.

During one recent session on Instagram, I kept track of the ads for products that intrigued me enough to look into the actual sites themselves to get an idea of the items themselves, their parent companies, and the price tags involved. What does Instagram think I'm in the mood for buying? Listed below are the top five things that almost made me surrender my cash just to own them for myself.

5. Squishable Plushies

Squishable isn't a new company, but their outreach found me on Instagram during the early days of the pandemic last year when they came out with preorders for their morbidly appropriate Plague Doctor plushie (seen in the lower right-hand corner of the above screenshot). Since then, I've checked on and off for any other "friends" I may be able to get for my Plague Doctor. The options are seemingly endless: you can find Corgi plushies next to smiling watermelon slices while another click may find you looking at kawaii-fied peanut butter jars or lovable cacti. Do you have a favorite animal? Squishable will likely have you covered no matter which species is your number one. Even if you're not big on plushies, though, the site has options to submit your own designs for potential new squishables to come. If you're a kid at heart, you too would probably love looking through Squishable's offerings and seeing if one might find a forever home with you.

Price Range: $19.99 (minis) to $59.99 (some special editions)

Free Shipping? Any order over $75 (US only)

Where you can buy your own: squishable.com

Arguably, plushies aren't a necessity, and neither quite is the next item on this list...

4. icanvas Taylor Swift Folklore As Books Canvas Print by Jordan Bolton

I'm not going to lie: like many individuals out there, I fell in love with Taylor Swift's pandemic gift in the form of her eighth album Folklore. Whether I listened to "Exile" or "Betty" or any of the other song choices, the storytelling in the lyrics got to me in a way few songs can manage to do on a single album. And what better way to memorialize those feelings? Why, a print of Folklore's songs lined up like individual books on a shelf! How does the internet come up with so many things I never realized I could want? Luckily for me, however, I have been influenced to buy too much art through Instagram ads in the past, so I managed to convince myself I did not need this print...for now.

Price Range: $26.99 (mini canvas) to $113.84 (framed canvas)

Free Shipping? Contiguous US orders only

Where you can buy your own: icanvas.com

So what else did Instagram push onto my feed to get me to hand over some funds?

3. Laika Studios Coraline (The Braver You Are) Hoodie

I honestly have had pretty bad luck with clothes I've been influenced to buy via ads on Instagram (mostly having to do with my lack of research into the sites themselves), but I really almost clicked through on this ad because it's CORALINE. And the 2009 film Coraline (based on the novel of the same name by Neil Gaiman) did not have much in the way of merchandise when it was first released. The film, however, has many steadfast fans who were likely clamoring for products related to the movie. Enter Laika Studios, the creators of the film, that have made some much-desired merch for the film available through their site's online shop. As of this writing, the above hoodie is so popular that it has sold out of all sizes except for X-Small, so I guess I may have another chance to get my own in the near future if I so desire...

Price Range: $45.00 (sale prices may vary)

Free Shipping? No (shipping prices vary by location)

Where you can buy your own: shop.laika.com

Now we get to the big guns of what tempted me on my scrolling track...

2. Jeulia Hug Me "Show Your Heart" Dragon Heart Cut Sterling Silver Necklace

At first I thought the above necklace was licensed for the film franchise How to Train Your Dragon, but a quick look at the site told me that wasn't the case. But doesn't the little black dragon bear a striking resemblance to the adorable dragon from the films? I'm also not usually big on jewelry, but a cute piece like this? It would be the perfect way to show my "geekish" interests without being too overt. But I resisted! The readers tuning into this article, though? You may want your own to flash your fandom pride.

Price Range: $95.00

Free Shipping? Any order over $99

Where you can buy your own: jeulia.com

And now we get to the pièce de résistance of this list...

1. Boho Peak Handmade Forest Queen Tiara

If you ever want to feel fancy, you probably need a crown to show off your fabulous self. This crown in particular caught my eye immediately when I saw it come up on my feed, and the only thing that kept me from clicking through was the stray thought, "Do I really need this?" My greater common sense won out, but this crown is stunning no matter how long I just stare at it. Do you find yourself tempted in just that same way? I hope I'm not the only one!

Price Range: $80.00 (sale prices may vary)

Free Shipping? No (shipping prices vary by location)

Where you can buy your own: bohopeak.com

Do you ever find yourself coveting different things you see popping up on your social media feed? In our highly transmissible era of information all-the-time-anywhere, it's hard not to feel a bit bombarded with ads and influential posts coming in at all hours. But with great accessibility also comes great responsibility...with our wallets. Make smart purchases, everyone!

All links above are current as of March 2021. Prices listed may change at any time. I am not sponsored by any company or site mentioned in this article.