I hate to admit it, but I have become an Instagram fanatic and have become enamored with the social media app that allows folks to share photos, videos and interact with others.

However, with that being said, I am not one who has posted much, and I really don’t search for people on Instagram. My particular obsession is focused more on the information, be it home improvement, gardening or exercise tips that are shared.

Take for instance @jmg8tor’s posts. Not only is this man entertaining, but he also shares some really interesting home improvement tips. Let’s just say, I have learned a lot about the many uses of WD-40.

Oh, and for those of you who aren’t familiar with Instagram, every account is named with a “handle.”  The @jmg8tor is the Instagram handle for my home improvement guy.

I also follow (following means you want to view all the posts in that particular person’s feed) @carmenjohnstongardens. Her Instagram profile states that she is a “garden and lifestyle expert,” and from the advice she gives on southern gardening, I would agree. Her tips on how to take care of everything from hydrangeas to what to put out to keep the deer away have definitely been enlightening.

Christy and Michael Pack, whose handle is @theironvictorian are also fun to follow. The couple have taken a lovely old house and transformed it into a dream home. It just makes my eyes happy to see all the unique and beautiful things they have done.

There are several others I follow on Instagram, but I think my favorite is John Mark Sharpe/@johnmarkenterprises. He is just as cute as a button and extremely talented. He owns a boutique style florist in Germantown, Tenn. and I fell in love with him the first time I saw an Instagram post of him decorating for a wedding. And he does these cute little videos where he demonstrates how he makes bows. His demonstrations are easy enough to follow, but when you go to his website to purchase the ribbon he uses, most are sold out. Folks who viewed his post earlier beat me to the punch.

Which brings me to the point of this column — Instagram “influencers.”

These folks have acquired a large following, are considered credible and thus can influence others by sharing recommendations and/or showcasing products, like the cutie at @johnmarkenterprises.

This is all good and fine. I have actually tried some of the products these “influencers” post about, but what has got me a bit frustrated is when they rave too much about an item. It’s like a moth to a flame. Everybody rushes out to purchase and, on some occasions, like I just said, I have been late to the game, namely when it comes to a certain artificial Christmas tree.

Last year, one influencer touted a tree from Home Depot and before you know it there were none to be found. Fortunately for my sister-in-law, she was able to snag the last one from the Vicksburg retailer.

With the holidays in clear sight I have thought about upgrading my own Christmas tree and have been contemplating getting the Home Depot model that was so popular last year. I also saw a very similar one at Hobby Lobby but since it’s just October, I decided to wait just a bit.

I wasn’t sure if my jack-o-lanterns and witches would take to kindly to me toting home a Christmas tree and intruding on their season.

However, knowing about last year’s Christmas tree calamity, I did suggest to my mom, who is also considering a new tree, that she go ahead and just look and see if there were any she liked. So last weekend I accompanied her to Home Depot.

She was impressed with last year’s hot seller and decided that was the one she wanted and unlike me, decided she would go ahead and buy one. The only problem was we didn’t see any on the floor. So, we asked one of the employees if they had some stored someplace else and guess what — they didn’t. The nice young man suggested we go online and just place an order for one — out of stock.

I assured mom that if she liked the Home Depot tree, she would also like the one Hobby Lobby had so off we went. I took her straight to the tree. She agreed, it was similar enough and decided she would get it. There was only one problem. There were no more stock tickets on the floor model. Once again, we sought an employee and asked if they had any in the back. He thought they might, but when he returned, he said they did not. I immediately went to the Hobby Lobby website to order and like Home Depot’s website, it listed them as out of stock.

Mom said she would just make do with her old tree, so we went home.

Earlier this week, I was in Walmart back where they have Christmas set up and a tree caught my eye. I had not seen it when I was there earlier and thought how similar it was to both the Home Depot and Hobby Lobby trees. And it was even less expensive. I thought if I am going to get a new tree, I better grab this model regardless of how my witches and jack-o’-lanterns would feel.

So, I strolled my buggy over to the stack of boxes with trees and began to look for T37.  No T37’s. I went to the other side of the room and peered at the boxes that were near the ceiling and did not see even one T37.

I didn’t bother asking anyone if they had any stored someplace else. I was pretty sure of what the answer would be.

I don’t know if Home Depot, Hobby Lobby or Walmart will restock those particular trees after Halloween.

If only I were an Instagram “influencer.”