I'll never forget when I first heard about the iPhone app, Instagram, while in my early years of high school. My older sister had made an account and showed me her trendy page with all her pound symbols now branded as "hashtags" and her abundant, unique followers. I specifically recall thinking how amazing it was that someone all the way across the world could appreciate her pictures and connect with her. Like many teenagers around that time, I downloaded the app and quickly began taking "artsy" pictures and loaded on a disgusting amount of hashtags to my pictures. But let's be real, my iPhone 3 quality sunset pictures were far from moving.
Flash forward to today where you'll find Instagram is a very different place. Instead of users showcasing their creativity and personality through their clever hashtag and filter usage, one might be met with a set of copy and pasted hashtags. In place of connecting with strangers who were drawn to your work, you'll find paid-for followers and spam accounts; it's safe to say things have changed—drastically.
People are so caught up with creating this picturesque life online that they lose touch with actually living life. For myself, I realized I would set out on adventures with friends specifically with a caption and pose in mind for my latest post. If you don't believe me go to a concert or a restaurant and you'll see what I mean. Everyone is caught up in showing what they're doing and up keeping that online presence. They partake in this modern trend so extensively that they forget to experience and be in the moment.
Beyond missing out on the present, the app presents a new set of standards when it comes to self worth. The more "likes" and followers one has, the more they are equated with being popular or likable in this manufactured sense of normalcy. On the reverse, the lack of either can result in a plummet of self-esteem. My own self-esteem took a couple hits when I was younger until I realized that my worth didn't come from others or the amount of hearts next to a picture. Unfortunately, for the increasing amount of younger users on Instagram, they haven't learned this truth yet and are more easily subjected to cyber bullying as a result. Being young is hard enough, but with standards like the Jenner girls, it's even harder to feel confident in your own skin.
The funniest thing that I never expected from deleting some of my social media was the reaction from others. That first month without Instagram I received several texts from upset friends asking why I unfollowed them. Similarly, people are always flabbergasted when they ask for my username and find out that it no longer exists. I guess the app has become such a social norm that going without seems like an absolute crime.
So it's nearing almost a year since I deleted the app and honestly it's been one of the more freeing experiences I've gone through in terms of reducing technology in my life. Just because Insta wasn't for me in the end doesn't mean I am free of social media, but I limit my time on those other sites for similar reasons. When it comes down to it, I'd rather be in those exciting moments of my life experiencing life in the present, rather than thinking about what I want the world to see.
