These days, social media is acting as a major part of our lives. As you know, there are Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other apps. But other than that, Instagram is so special and so simple. So let’s see what Instagram is and what is the reality of this. Instagram promotes itself as a fun method to share photos with friends. Users take photos with their phones and then choose from more than a dozen filters to give the photos a unique look. They have a description and a location, and they share them with their pals on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.
Instagram is primarily a visual platform. Unlike Facebook, which uses both text and images, and Twitter, which uses just text, Instagram’s only aim is to allow users to share photographs or videos with their audience. The ultimate value of Facebook, though, is the cell phone population that Instagram has created in such a short period of time.
It is currently one of the largest social networks, with over 40 million registered members who can follow friends, like photographs, and leave comments on them. More than a billion photographs have been downloaded, at an average of 6 million each day. The number of daily users is exceptionally big, and the photographs generate more than 600 likes and 85 comments each second.
In this situation, could you find your happiness on Instagram?
We’ve all seen how most individuals on social media present an idealized version of themselves, cherry-picking just the greatest photographs, thoughts, and experiences to share with the world. However, some Instagram superstars have carried this notion to its logical conclusion. They bombard their followers with altered photographs that are so far removed from reality that they can sow seeds of doubt in the minds of certain individuals, driving them to strive for unrealistic body ideals at the expense of their self-esteem and mental health.
For example, holidays have become a competition to see who can get the most likes on Instagram. It begins with us stopping whatever we’re doing, pulling out our phones, and capturing a dozen photos from every angle available. We then spend another five minutes thinking about a caption. Should I use lyrics from the new album, or should I just use emojis? Now it’s time for a filter, which will take ages.
We put our phones down for an hour, just to pick them up again and see how many likes our last post had garnered. By then, the gorgeous sunset we should have been viewing has passed us by, and thunder clouds have begun to sweep in.
We had precious moments, but we didn’t enjoy them because we felt obligated to share them with others.
Most of us on social media have a minor fascination with posting everything: our breakfast squad, the surprise meals our spouses prepare for us, and the view from our hotel suites. We’ve
all been this person or sat across from one at some time in our lives. And it’s really annoying. Isn’t it true that we’ve come to discuss and catch up? So why are we neglecting each other and staring at our phones instead?
Do our followers care where we are and the hashtags that go with it? Consider this: do you care about these items when you see them in your feed? Sure, some photographs are fantastic, but they don’t compel you to think about them on a deeper level, which is, after all, the objective of the scrolling function.
We don’t need Instagram to verify our happiness; a rise in likes does not imply an increase in happiness levels. Sure, some individuals appear to be overjoyed in their images, and their vacations appear to be straight out of a luxury magazine, but are they truly as content as they appear?
Worse, our Instagram feed has devolved into a battleground, a field of fierce competitiveness. We are scared by other people’s photographs and feel the need to ‘raise our game.’ As we feel pressured to share our enjoyment with others, we get a sudden sensation of unease.
Instead, we may become more at ease with ourselves and cultivate the mindset of “I know I’m happy, and I don’t need anyone else to tell me so.” We must embrace the moments that life provides us with since the greatest ones arrive without hesitation and are accentuated by a carefree mindset. Why check Instagram every ten minutes when you might be enjoying another margarita on the beach?
Don’t get me wrong: I enjoy shooting photographs, and my summer vacation spots are no exception. They serve as a reminder of the good times I’ve had, especially on days when I’m stuck at the workplace. And, yes, I am guilty of downloading a photo or two while soaking up the rays of the tropical sun. But I’d like to alter the last sentence.
Of course, this will not be an easy undertaking, but I want to take small steps toward it. Maybe I’ll start by waiting until the end of the day, when I’m all snuggled up in my comfy hotel bed, to post something. But one thing is certain: I refuse to squander valuable minutes worrying about how I appear to my Instagram followers.
We don’t need to tell others how pleased we are, and we certainly don’t need to pique their interest. We don’t need to live up to their expectations since we should be enjoying our vacations for ourselves.