Saying Goodbye To Instagram

Courtesy of Yahoo Images

*at least for a little while*

Every morning my routine usually looks something like this: grab my phone, check Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, probably check out my Pinterest boards, play my friends back in Trivia Crack and then re-check Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat for good measure.

My phone is constantly glued to my hand. Sometimes I’m mindlessly checking social media and it is only when I am stalking my love interest’s friend’s cousin who lives in the UK that I realize I might have a problem.

Recently, this article popped up in my newsfeed from Thought Catalog about today’s dating culture and the role social media plays. I found there to be a lot of truth to what the author was saying:

“Open up Instagram and see the lives of others, the life we could have. See the places we’re not traveling to. See the lives we’re not living. See the people we’re not dating. We bombard ourselves with stimuli, input, input, input and we wonder why we’re miserable. We wonder why we’re dissatisfied.”

“We tell people we’re in a relationship on Facebook. We throw up pictures on Instagram. We become a “we.” We make it seem shiny and perfect because what we choose to share is the highlight reel.”

And it’s true.

Christmas Eve my aunt was giving me and my cousins a hard time about our Instagramming habits, claiming that people only Instagram pictures based on how many likes they’ll get or because they think they look really good. To which we replied, “Well, yeah.”

Not everyone is guilty of this, but a large majority of us are. We use Instagram to flaunt our lives. With the filter and editing options, we literally project enhanced snapshots of our lives out into the world. Instagram has become a means of gratification, a game of how many likes we can rack up. Yes the pictures are real, but to what extent? How staged was the process in the hopes of getting that perfect picture? How long did it take you to choose the right filter?

And it seems that whenever you’re out with friends, part of that time is spent taking pictures. You might not say it, but in the back of your head you’re thinking, “I’m definitely going to Instagram this.”

Where’s the authenticity?

In an effort to break the cycle and “cleanse” myself, I deleted the app from my phone last week. 10 days Instagram free people and so far so good.

I’m not implying that people need to go cold turkey, and I’m all for self love, but there are only so many selfies and Michael Kors watches I can see in my feed.