How and why are educators using Instagram?

Social media are commonplace in many educators’ lives, but their Instagram activities have received no prior attention in the empirical literature. We therefore created and disseminated a survey regarding educators’ Instagram use. Analyses of 841 responses suggested participants were generally intensive users of Instagram who engaged in the exchange of both professional knowledge and wisdom, as well as affective support. In addition to identifying benefits to Instagram use, some participants offered critiques of Instagram’s professional utility. We discuss the implications of these findings for educators’ work in a digital era and the future of research on educators’ social media activities. •Akin to other popular social media, Instagram has attracted significant use by educators.•In an online survey, 841 educators described how and why they used Instagram.•Affinity space and teacherpreneurship concepts framed our investigation.•Participants reported intensive and multifaceted use of Instagram that provided multiple professional benefits.•Many participants mixed posting of personal and professional content on Instagram.