Instagram has reinvented social media. Ever since its inception back in 2010, instagram has taken the world by storm and it does not look like the craze will slow down any time soon. Humans are visual creatures, we are attracted by colors, faces and creativity in the visual medium. Bloggers are told to have eye-catching pictures in their articles, writers are supposed to have impressive and striking cover art for their books – all for the same reason. Instagram has managed to capture exactly that and how!
Unfortunately, it doesn’t come without a few pitfalls. Of course, there are millions of interesting posts and videos full of beauty & humor which garner attention but a few things, I believe, aren’t so pretty.
The Good.
Let’s first focus on the good, positive things that instagram has brought to the forefront. A large number of businesses, comedians, make-up artists have found a platform to showcase their unique talents and products. The skills that some of the artists and photographers project are seriously mind boggling. Not just that – artists have even found their artwork being shared massively. One such amazing artist Kristina Webb (@colour_me_creative) landed up with a book deal filled with her awesome art. You go girl!
The Bad.
Now here’s the thing, and I’m sure not everyone will agree with me. Instagram has spawned a whole new generation of little kids wanting to look older. I am not even sure how these kids are allowed to have social media accounts (Instagram has a minimum age limit of 13) considering, you know, it’s the internet. Maybe it’s the ‘Kardashian/Jenner’ influence or just media in general, but little kids wearing concealers and heavy eyeliners in photos and posing like models make me wonder where their childhood got lost in the process. I am not opposed to make-up – it’s definitely alright if a teen girl wants to look pretty. But there’s just something wrong about a young fresh face full of make-up, contour et al. I guess it’s the things that kids and teens are exposed to nowadays. Everybody wants to look like Kylie Jenner on instagram (who herself is a 19 year old girl looking much older than her age after wearing make-up). It’s important to remember that most of the instagram pictures are carefully composed, lit and posed. Just like young people shouldn’t idolize magazine cover models, similarly they shouldn’t try to emulate instagram models. Don’t make them your #goals.
The Ugly.
On instagram, the hate is on another level. There are instances of thousands and thousands of comments posting snake emojis or just overall hating on a celebrity who is a human they don’t even know. We did gain anonymity on the internet but did we have to lose empathy along with it? Some accounts are now disabling comments on their pictures which basically is the opposite of ‘social’ – but they have no choice. Either disable comments or get lots of hateful remarks from people with low self-esteem. I personally like to follow one rule on the internet- if you don’t like something, click away.
These were my two cents about instagram in general. I love the fact that beautiful photographs and funny videos are so easily accessible due to this app but it’s definitely not perfect. What do you think? Do you agree? Comment below!
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