Instagram – it’s a wonderful life

Before coming to Instagram a few months ago, I knew that it’s a place to impress, to be seen, and to possibly gain short-lived celebrity moments. Until then I didn’t feel the need to post my meals and selfies online. I can assure you – I still don’t. However, creating the blog last summer encouraged me to try out this social media platform. My goal was and still is to share favorite photos I take during traveling and concerts as well as anything I believe is beautiful, curious or quirky.

 

Not so long ago I shared my experience with Facebook over the years. As I currently barely see a few posts in my Facebook newsfeed, I appreciate that I can still see all the updates I follow on Instagram.

 

My humble presence on Instagram so far has left me with the following observations and impressions:

 

Everyone is having the time of their lives. No sad or angry faces, happiness rules the world. C’est la vie.

 

Nearly all travel photos are drowned in the same filters. Differentiation, anyone?

 

Body positions and facial expressions are identical. Let’s look away in the picture because that’s how they do it in professional photo shoots.

 

Fake following is real. Both brands and private persons spend hundreds and thousands of dollars to gain cult status. I  had been approached several times with offers to buy followers and my answer remains the same.

 

Follows for follows. Many follow with the only hope to get the ”favor” back. This is something I find frustrating and dishonest. Moreover, such a practice makes it hard to know who follows you because they are genuinely interested in the content you share.  Recently I have learned that Instagram is much more complex than that – there are fake accounts which follow and then automatically unfollow you. Scary stuff!

 

Self-promotion is everything. A typical Instagram trick is to post a compliment under someone’s photo with a direct invitation to follow you. Isn’t it entrepreneurial?

 

Everyone is a star. The brightest, the highest, the smartest.

 

Some go to extremes such as buying a specific kitchen set for a photo shoot. Unless one is a photographer, who really needs this? There are many great photographers and other visual artists worth wasting time on Instagram.

 

As I seek substance, I try to avoid the noise and the pink illusions of Instagram.