Wednesday 2 September 2015

Why I Love & Hate Instagram



I started using Instagram regularly just over a year ago and it's been quite the emotional journey. (I kid you not.) In all honesty, I still have yet to feel I have my style down... I flit from filter to filter and am no better at creating an "aesthetic" than I am at creating the perfect macaron au pistache...

But these musings are very much by the by; my purpose today is to break down my love-hate relationship with our old pal Insta and offer some suggestions as to why it leaves me so conflicted. Shall we?



A photo posted by Anna (@byhermirror) on


Why I love Instagram



It forces me to take more photos

... and share them, something I find easier said than done! We all know that feeling of gliding through your feed to find snaps from a highlight; before writing this, I have just had to flit through a load of pictures from last summer and they've left me unspeakably nostalgic. There's something nice about seeing your memories slid neatly into a series of 1:1 frames.

I think more about the little moments

Admiring the delicious smoothies I can't stop making. Capturing a landscape from a walk with my mum. Taking a cheeky snap on a day spent with my favourites. In some ways, Instagram makes me take notice, feel gratitude.

It has brought me friendship

There are a number of people I only know through Instagram, something that makes me feel weird and excited at the same time. It's been so nice finding like minded people, who appreciate the simple beauty of a flat white (but you'll never find me actually drinking one. Coffee is not my bud.)

A photo posted by Anna (@byhermirror) on


WHY I HATE INSTAGRAM



It makes me shallow

Yes, my cactus in a teacup is adorable. But it's not actually contributing to my happiness, no matter what I tell myself. I also end up pining over other people's feeds, even though the odds of us all having these printed and stuck to our tombstones will (hopefully) remain slim. A picture is just a picture, and no amount of framing, editing or hashtagging will actually make me happy.

I am boring to be around as a result

"Hang on... Just taking one for the Insta." Yup. That's me, all year long.

I disconnect from the present

All that time spent liking and agonising over filters is the time I could spend in the real world, with people that I care about. I don't know how many hours I've spent on Instagram and I really don't want to know as it would probably make me have a breakdown. Stopping to take photos means stopping and stepping out of the moments that make me happiest.




I'm seriously considering returning with a post on how I manage my relationship with social media as by and large, I think I'm doing a lot better! What do you guys think of Instagram? Have you been bitten too?




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