In this digital age there are lots of applications that are used for the purpose of sharing photos and videos, like Facebook, tik tok and Snapchat. And among these apps there stands to be one of the most used and reliable means of media sharing, and that is Instagram. It was launched back in 2010, created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. It was developed and owned by one of the most famous social networking services, Facebook. . It has gained several nick names over the years, such as IG, Insta, ‘the Gram’, etc.
Instagram is reached by a lot of young people, and in fact, this age group is the most frequent user. The older generation is also becoming familiarized to it, maybe not too familiarized like the younger ones. It is becoming more common than ever that whenever something happens or there is news to be shared the first thing that comes to people’s mind is to share them with their closest friends instantly. And for that Instagram becomes their first choice of social media, especially for young people. For some people this app is just as ordinary as the rest, like twitter, Facebook or Snapchat, but for others it means quite more than just another app. One thing is for sure, people like images. And the ability to share these and other media instantly for the world to see is one of the qualities that people love about Instagram. It is the right platform for instant activities. After all, what’s more fun than sharing that in-the-moment experience with our loved ones. This proves that the media knows its audience. With a fast modernizing world and data actually moving faster than people, the business world is choosing platforms like Instagram to lure customers and interested investors. And as mentioned image attracts everyone because it says more than words do. Plus, it is more suitable for a much faster and dynamic environment. Besides sharing images and other media files, this platform is easier to share thoughts and opinions. It is becoming more powerful in creating large movements worldwide in just one click. On the other hand, there are some people who think this mega-hit media is a bad influence. According to The Guardian, some researches and studies show that Instagram has a negative impact on the mental health of teens. With image and beauty becoming everything about this media, people are becoming more and more addicted to artificial beauty. This led to being more self-conscious about body image, and losing one’s personality just for the sake of getting more followers. This problem may be more common in teenagers, but it also affects adults too. The same research revealed that the number of customers increase year after year for the need of plastic surgeries and other adjustments to be made on the body. This is due to people thinking that everything seen on social media is real. This is not definitely Instagram’s or any other media’s fault. This issue falls on the fact that people setting standards to what must be perceived as beautiful and attractive. And once such biases get out of hand it’s hard to push the pause button on them. Even though this might not be the intention, but it is a hard reality that we are facing today. And sometimes as serious as this issue may be, it doesn’t get the attention it deserves.
There is no doubt the world is changing every second. And no one can argue that the power of social media is rising in a tremendous way. It might be shocking to hear, but it has changed what we know about the world in a massive way, both for the good and bad. And one of the perks of living in this age is that we are witnesses of this change. And Instagram has a lot to do with those changes. Every big innovation has its rights and wrongs, but in the end the rights outweigh the wrongs. Instagram is one of the best things that this decade has offered to us and changed too many lives again for the better or for worse. And it will continue to do so as we go along. A successful media like this is always on a momentum, always bringing change to the world. We may or may not like the changes, but if we focus on the good side, it will be a game changer for years to come.
