Instagram: the tiny app that turns your phone into a world-class camera and you into basically a professional photographer. Right? It's so popular that a couple of years ago, Mark Zuckerberg offered $1 billion to buy it. Every company and small business has an Instagram account, and colleges do too. After months of refusing to join, I jumped on the bandwagon my senior year of high school and was instantly hooked. But why? What is it about taking pictures and posting them that is addicting to so many users?

There's a reason so many people are hooked on photography. Aside from poetry, telling stories through pictures is a pastime that can make people see things through our eyes. It's like announcing, Hey, look! Step into my shoes and get a glimpse at how I view the world. It's a great way to talk about personal experiences and social issues. It can also be a lighter hobby -- taking pictures just to appreciate surroundings or document experiences. But before Instagram, a camera that was not attached to our phones was the main mode of taking these pictures. Photographers structure a shot very carefully -- they take into account composition principles, lighting, angle, getting "up close and personal," shooting up or shooting down, and so on. Of course, not all pictures are taken this way; a lot of great worked produced by photographers can be merely an "accident," a stroke of luck during a shoot. In general, however, a photographer takes a lot into account when taking a picture. If the picture was taken on film, the film would then be developed and pictures printed in a darkroom. It is only after this that the photographer can put them through alternative processes such as sepia toning, blue toning, etc. Digital images are somewhat easier; Photoshop allows one to crop, dodge/burn, perform other processes on the computer, and then resize the image for printing. The more traditional film or digital way of taking pictures is arguably a more hands-on process, however.

With cameras of increasingly high quality available on smartphones, it's becoming easier and easier to snap a picture, put it through some filters, and share it with the world. In no way is this a bad thing, but it can certainly be argued that it's robbing professional photographers of their accolades in many ways. Many newspapers are firing their photojournalists, and photography is turning into a dying art. Of course, Instagram is not the sole reason for this, but the app and the higher quality smartphone cameras do contribute.

Granted, there's a plus side to Instagram as well. There's something incredibly enjoyable about snapping an "artsy" picture and then putting it through a bunch of fun filters. There are even separate apps to edit pictures, and one has the option of editing them again right before uploading them. It appears to be assumed that people who are into photography are into Instagram -- my two friends who pushed me into it said, "You're so artsy, I feel like you'd totally have a cool Instagram!" At the time, I vehemently objected, saying, "No way, Instagram is for fake artsy people!" I genuinely thought Instagram was for those too lazy to invest in "real" photography, or those too lazy to learn the art. I couldn't have been more wrong, as I discovered. Instagram is a great vessel for creative expression, which I hope leads people to explore photography further. People upload a variety of images, from fashion to food to travels to snapshots of their daily life. It's one form of social media that I thoroughly enjoy. It can be annoying -- contrary to popular belief, no one wants to see every single detail of your life. There's a line. But either way, I would encourage everyone to get on Instagram. I've discovered that the app is a great way to get into photography and open your eyes to the world around you. I just hope people pursue photography further, instead of letting it stop at their smartphones.