Hi, I’m KeiKei. I’ve been struggling to find the best way to use Instagram and thought a lot of things about it, so I’ll organize those opinions in my mind in this article.
Disadvantages
Seek approval for my self-esteem
To some extent, I rely on Instagram to keep my self-esteem and seek approval from other people for my lifestyle or what I put effort into. For example, sometimes I share some pictures of me and my friends during my exchange study to show people that I have a fulfilling life here, surrounded by many people. I always try to show people myself as stylish, acquainted with the arts, or interesting through my posts. However, even if I achieve to be seen as the person I’d like to be, as long as I try to convince people of my personality, the personality is not real at all.
Using Instagram as a tool to keep my self-esteem never enables me to have real self-respect from the inner side of me. Rather, the process of using Instagram for self-esteem lowers my self-respect, because I unconsciously compare my life with that of other people while I’m seeing stories or posts, which makes me miserable when I realize the attitude. Instagram only shows tiny aspects of people’s lives, which are often superficial and the best moments, so my comparison doesn’t make sense.
I desire to be free from other people’s eyes and have solid self-respect to approve myself as it is.
Feel the obligation to share what I experience or enjoy
Whenever I come across photogenic situations in daily life, I feel a kind of obligation and pressure to take a picture to share it on Instagram, which prevents me from just focusing on enjoying the moment. I feel this is different from the feeling people just take a picture not to share it in the SNS, because in my case, it’s not for just enjoying taking pictures as memories, but showing off these pictures to other people. I feel I’m so stupid now, I really have to change the way to use Instagram or quit.
Advantages
Keep in touch with distant friends
I’ve got along with numerous friends around the world while I study as an exchange student and Instagram is the best tool to know their current situation and keep in touch with them even though we are in the distant countries. This is the most crucial reason for my hesitation to quit Instagram; If I delete my account, I might never see them again in the future unless I have a really strong connection with them or destiny leads me to see them again.
Find new interests
Thanks to a post from users I follow, whether it’s an official account or not, I can find new interests and spots to visit. For example, I’ve been to several exhibitions I knew about through my friends’ posts and that information was sometimes difficult to find if I searched for myself.
At the same time, I share my interests or hobbies, which enables me to find other people who have the same preferences as me and that is, of course, so much fun for me. Sometimes I happen to know my friends have unexpected interests which I also have even though we couldn’t find it in face-to-face conversations before that.
Know the real reputations
I can afford numerous real reputations of some sightseeing spots or activities on Instagram through up-to-date pictures. With pictures, I can feel the atmosphere and reality of somewhere or something much better than reading articles or blogs on the web filled with more words than pictures. I really make use of Instagram when I’m interested in something, and it often gives me important or precious information that can’t be found on the web. For example, I can find the truly popular cafes on Instagram while I might be confused with advertisements and truly famous cafes without any manipulations on the websites.
It will take a bit more time to find the best way to use Instagram, but by writing down its good and bad aspects, I could find how to make use of it, avoiding being suffered from its disadvantages. However, one thing I decided is when I store the posts I have ever shared on Instagram in a different place, I’ll quit Instagram for sure.
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