In a recent survey conducted by Pew Research, Instagram usage among U.S. citizens has shown significant growth with a staggering 300 million active users. When looking at just the young adult age group (ages 18 to 29), 53 percent of this demographic reportedly use Instagram. Additionally, 49 percent of Instagram users report daily engaging activity amongst their Instagram followers and the people whom they follow. Unlike other social media platforms, such as Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Twitter, Instagram is the only site that has continually experienced significant growth in almost every demographic group.
As a result of this ginormous surge in popularity, a specific type of "Instagram etiquette" has developed, taking over and controlling the lives of many Instagram users.
You’re not allowed to post more than one Instagram picture per day. If you get less than 11 likes, the names of those individuals who liked your photo will still show up, and that is beyond the point of embarrassing. To those with higher Insta-standards, getting less than 100 likes would most likely lead to the photo being deleted at some point. The way we spend hours editing our photos just to maintain the perfect Insta-aesthetic -- yes, hours.
I find myself going to different places, just so I can take an Instagram picture. I buy certain clothes and put together certain outfits just so I can (eventually) take (a much anticipated) Instagram picture. "Instagram etiquette" has become a familiar, but frequently unspoken, guilty susceptibility. I can't even remember a time when Instagram did not control my life; what was it like to go somewhere or do something without wanting to take a picture for my Instagram profile? I can't recall.
From that cute outfit I wore to dinner last night, to the crazy-fun party I went to, to the delicious breakfast spread I ate this morning, to that adorable beach selfie, to my cat simply resting along the window, to a panorama of the wall tapestry in my room…Instagram devours my attention, objectives, and purposes. WHY does this app have such a hold on me that I find myself asking my friends for their opinions on which selfie I should post? It's hard to believe that a media platform has the ability to expend me in not some, but almost every aspect of my life.
Because of this cultivating, life-consuming, beyond-the-point-of-addicting app, I am distracted, I am meticulous, I am vain, I am preoccupied, and somehow, I am both self-conscious and self-absorbed.
This Instagram sensation is rising at a faster rate than most of us can keep up with, and I am beyond petrified for our futures and for the futures of our children. What's left for this manipulative social media platform to consume?
