Is Instagram Helping or Hurting My Life?


That Sunday Styles article about Instagram gave me a stomach ache. From the minute I read the title - The Agony of Instagram - I knew what the entire piece was about, and my gut reaction was, don't read it. Don't further uncover what you already know; Instagram is making you crazy. Fine, maybe not crazy but definitely a more image-oriented, people-pleasing, showy version of yourself. If I had to honestly assess the motivation behind any given image I 'gram it would be showing off. Is that so terrible? No. Everyone does it, and I have plenty to be proud of. But is it necessarily good? I don't know. That same gut that said don't read the article seems to be saying no.

I went through the same thought process around Facebook a few weeks ago. My friend Ally bravely cancelled her account almost a year ago and feels liberated by the disconnect from every online move the friends (and random acquaintances you feel too guilty not accepting as friends) in her life make. That sounds delightful, but my life of self-promotion (Sunday Night Sex Talks, this blog) requires Facebook (and Twitter too), or so I think.

But Instagram is fully pleasure. I don't have enough followers to constitute a fan base for this writing or anything else, and it's the place I post my more personal photos anyway. So it felt like time to weigh the cost/benefit of it all. Yes, an honest assessment of how a smart phone app that shares pictures I put through filters positively or negatively impacts my life. It's come to this.

NEGATIVES
  • I frequently find myself 'gramming when I should be enjoying the one-in-a-lifetime live moments happening before my eyes.
  • I use the word 'gramming...
  • I frequently find myself looking at my Instagram feed when I should be enjoying one-in-a-lifetime live moments happening before my eyes...or just listening to what R is saying to me. 
  • On more than one occasion I've posted a photo solely to make people on the east coast jealous of west coast weather...flowers...scenery...food.
  • Other people's photos make me feel inadequate about my: apartment, weekend, social life, hair, make-up, outfit, and lack of dog/baby/actual house.
  • Sometimes I feel bad that I wasn't invited somewhere when I see other friends together.
  • I miss my friends and family far away when I see their pictures.
  • I think pictures that don't have one to three filters applied to them are weird looking. 
 POSITIVES
  • I can keep up with my far-away friends and family even more through their photos.
  • I get motivated to be more adventurous when I see other people being more adventurous.
  • Recipes ideas. 
  • A good laugh.
  • General creative stimulation created by beautiful/interesting/creative photos. 
  • Some discounts (I follow a lot of fashion accounts...)
  • Something to do when I am bored/alone at a restaurant/trying to determine the strength of my wireless connection.
  • I feel closer to Lauren Conrad than ever before. 

Does any of that sound familiar?

Does any of that seem conclusive?

I honestly can't say, though I'm pretty uncomfortable with both sides of the list. But uncomfortable enough to cancel my account? Sadly, I don't think so. The holidays are coming up, and I can't bear the thought of missing Lauren Conrad's perfectly-wrapped presents, and 'gramming my own, of course.

What's your take? 
 

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