I passed on Instagram when it picked up. I was trying to do more things out of genuine interest, and fewer things out of a desire for validation. Instagram was the opposite of what I needed at that time. I didn't pay much attention to it after that. I had no animosity towards it; it was just my line in the sand.
2-3 years later, I'm on a long solo trip, and Instagram is everywhere. For a bunch of people, proving they're there became more important than being there. I only notice it now that I'm where the photos get taken.
Everywhere I go, I see people spend 10-20 minutes posing for photos without ever paying attention to the background they travelled so far to see. I sometimes need to move out of the way to be left out of their pictures.
In concerts, phones go up to record, and come down to share. At any given moment, there's a wall of screens between me and the bands. Kids are constantly checking how their post fares up. Everybody checked in, but nobody's there.
Instagram handles are the new "I was here" graffitis. I see them scribbled on walls everywhere I go.
None of this really affects me directly, but it really upsets me. I spend the last few years learning how to enjoy a moment without sharing it, but Instagram seems to entice people to share a moment without enjoying it. I knew it would be like crack cocaine to me, so I avoid it. However, I didn't expect other people to be affected so intensely by it. It seems even more intense among teenagers.
I just wanted to get this off my mind. I've been chewing on these thoughts for a while, and I needed an outlet.
Submitted May 06, 2019 at 05:02AM by n1c0_ds http://bit.ly/300Nlkr
