Here is everything you’ll find on an Edi Student’s Instagram

Edinburgh is a very Instagrammable city.  How many times have you been stuck behind tourists taking pictures of random buildings while running late for a class? Honestly, who can blame them – one of the reasons you probably came here in the first place was to show off the city on social media.

Why would you focus on your degree when every single street deserves (at least) a spot on your Insta story? But despite the quirky persona you give off online, the things you find on every Edi student’s Insta can be condensed into just a few things:

Pictures that make it look like winter here is really, really fun

I can guarantee you’re fed up of these already. You’ve battled Princes Street and through the shuffling Christmas market crowd to the £7 hot dogs (daylight robbery) – you need to show the world that Christmas in Edinburgh really is all it’s cracked up to be to people who don’t live here.

They don’t need to know that you had to dash out at 3pm to take pictures before the sunset and, despite wearing three pairs of trousers, still couldn’t feel your feet by the end.

Sunsets

Remember when these happened at 7pm? No, me neither. The only redeeming feature of it being dark all the time is that you can always see the sunset – and they can be stunning.

Expect to see what it looked like from every window in Edinburgh, as everyone posts about it for several hours after an especially nice one.

“Study” dates

Probably at Teviot, or Black Medicine if you really commited to the aesethetic. Chances are you bought a coffee, gossiped, took a couple of cute photos to prove how hard you worked, then left.

Sushi

Nayna Florence is the queen of this.

Either eaten on a random bench in The Meadows or in bed, sushi is the Gen-Z equivilent of millenial avocado toast. If you’ve spent all your student loan by week six on sushi, don’t worry – we all have.

Your quirky and indie ring collection

Chances are you raided Nicolson Street charity shops for these, and they are your most valuable possessions. Bonus points if they’re so big you can’t take anything out your pockets without taking a couple off.

If you’re in Pollock, throw a signet ring into the equation too.

That one time you left Edinburgh and actually explored Scotland….

Whether it was that one night out in Glasgow, a trip to COP26 or a weekend in the Highlands, it’s guaranteed to have made your insta.

Given the pandemic, it is now acceptable to post pictures from trips that happened well before lockdown as though it was just last weekend.

Or the one time you made the trek to Portobello.

Because if you got the bus or walked that far everyone needs to know it. There are about four days a year where Portobello is tolerably warm enough to enjoy an ice cream and the other 361 days a year coffee is very much required.

Random baked goods

Even more relevant now it’s exam season and stress baking is happening. As the home of the ex- Bake Off champion himself, plus a plethora of amazing desert shops, there’s really no excuse not to have these on your Insta.

Think Consider It, Toppins, even Lidl bakery; a reward for a hard day sat in the library on TikTok.

Taylor Swift

Not a post as such, more an undercurrent of your whole social media prescense. Whether it’s to get through a particularly boring piece of work or to wallow about what could have been with that guy you saw at Flare Mondays back in September, us Edinburgh students love a bit of Taylor Swift.

You can hear her music through almost every flimsy wall in the city, and All Too Well (10 minute version) sees us the way to practically every building on campus. Best used as a caption for your posts or on your story.

Old College

If you’re taking the classic photo by the grass as you submit your dissertation, fair enough. If not, expect judgement from the law students in a hurry to get to class, and to be joined by tourists who had the exact same idea.

If you can’t beat them, join them.

The Viva La Cowgate neon sign

There is something so millenial about this neon lighting, but we students can’t help be drawn to it lik moths to a lamp. Although it may immensely confuse all your friends from home, as they wonder why all of your Tuesday night outs are centred around this elusive sign, you can’t deny how good it looks on your feed.

Vibey views in Central

Kings Buildings could never – those 70s blocks don’t make for the best Instagrammable snaps. The same goes for the library – the less said about those monstrous grey slabs, the better.

If you’re anywhere else in Central however, congratulations! A picture of just about any building will have everyone back home green with envy.

Pics where it’s borderline whether you’re too drunk in them to actually be posting

Either taken in the club mirror if by some miracle your make up still looks okay, or more likely in Spoons during pres. The Caldey Picture House is by far the best for a good background, but any of the other’s will do.

This is, of course, to prove that you’re a normal broke uni student like everyone else, and don’t eat out most days with Daddy’s money.

Related articles recommended by this writer:

• The complete alphabet of ALL Edinburgh essentials

• Here is every type of Edinburgh student you will find in the library right now

• How to prevent frostbite and stay warm in Edinburgh this winter