TLDR: After spending lots of time on platforms like LinkedIn and Dev.to, I just feel Instagram is overrated. Scrolling through memes the whole day just kills your time, and should be spending it on something productive. (no offense to Instagram :p)
A few months back, I started my day with Instagram and ended with it. Updating stories, making posts, commenting on posts, sharing memes, and whatnot.
I just loved the kind of validation I got from that app. I should rather say I got addicted to instant gratification.
It was until one day when the panic monster hit me and realized how much time have I really got and how I was spending it. I had a lot to catch up before I face the reality of life. That was the day I decided to change myself. Broke that barrier in my life that was not letting me grow.
It was hard initially to not open that app and check for notifications every few minutes. I overcame that, and I am glad about it.
That was the time I started exploring a few other platforms like dev.to and Linkedin. I loved how the people on these platforms were helping each other grow, and I should say I am addicted to these.
(in a good way :p)
Today, I barely open Instagram and don't care as much as I used to do. I have overcome my craving for instant gratification and have started to work on my long term goals (for delayed gratification) that will one day be all worth it.
if Instagram is not overrated, then why do people end up using it for hours when instead they can be doing something else that could be more productive?
What do you think?
Oldest comments (24)
No, not really?
I mean, I don't spend time on LinkedIn anyway, but other sites aren't going to affect what I think of Instagram, which is that it's alright and mildly interesting.
Having an Instagram account for me is kinda fun, in that I post once every few weeks or months and like to use it as a small gallery of my life. I don't see that as a waste of time. Also, I can sometimes keep in touch with friends who do use it more.
you are right Ben. What I feel is it not the right thing to just scroll through memes the whole day instead of utilizing your precious time on something more productive. A few months back, I was one of those, but now I have come out of it and have started learning more and being productive, and now I feel that I don't like Instagram anymore.
I guess the difference is that I never really saw Instagram as "social media" and haven't engaged with anyone that way. For what it was originally sold as, it's still decent!
I use Instagram more for fun, friends, fitness related content (and cat content), but use Twitter and LinkedIn more professional. I only follow people on Twitter of whom I think I can learn something and stay up to date...
That's a good idea!
It depends on the way you are using Instagram. It's useful for people who are using Instagram for marketing their business. Recently, many Facebook memes pages have created their Instagram account. As a result, Insta now resembles Facebook to a certain extent.
You can set reminders about the time you want to spend everyday on Insta. It also displays a graph of user activity on the app. I feel very few people might be using it. And even if they set a reminder, the app addiction doesn't allow them to stop using it.
That's a great suggestion!
Very well said!
I use Instagram to look at art and nature photography. It can be a useful tool for inspiration, more than other spammy social networks at least.
Right!
I do really see Instagram as junk food, mostly the lowest common denominator in a lot of ways. That being said, there is a certain beauty to the product and it has cultivated a truly fascinating presence in the world.
I hope Forem can capture some of the magic of Instagram in a healthier and more community-empowering way.
True Ben!!
It's really easy of wasting time on some social apps, you'd be easily distracted by newly created contents and suggestions without even knowing it. That's also a cool feature about them.
True, and that's what scares me!
Few years ago I heard friendster was overrated, then it was multiply then myspace, then facebook. Now it’s instagram because TikTok is apparently hot nowadays.
Younger audiences always look for something new and I think that’s the cycle. It’s completely fine not to follow the cycle.
These platforma are not comparable with professional ones anyway, such as LinkedIn. Different audience, different purposes.
Well said Gulah! I only wish people discovered these amazing sites!
Instagram for me is TRULY overrated. But there are a lot of people that use it as a way to create content and market themselves as 'authorities' in a certain niche and there are some courses teaching how to get clients and make money out of it.
I never really had an account there because it became popular when I went all anti-FB, plus the fact that you must use it as a mobile app to upload content is a biiiig red flag to me.
Yes I can relate!
In my opinion , social media is not at all necessary if you are common man/woman doing 9-5 job. It just adds to your stress(unconsciously).
So true!! I have felt that multiple times and I am able to focus much better after reducing social media usage!
I personally am over Instagram. It's great if you're using it as a visual journal and if you have a lot of visual content to market. It's great for shopping, selling, design, artists, and animals. You really can great a great marketing plan using Instagram, FB, Youtube, and Pinterest.
I tried for a while to keep it for professional stuff, but I feel peer pressure to always post perfect stuff and so it has just gotten too stressful for me on my personal account. However, it works great for my side hobbies.
I do think that it's like junk food. It requires the bare minimum to interact, it's less polarized than FB, and it's easy to get sucked into an endless scroll on it. I think the average person can have a hard time breaking from it. Most people go to their jobs and come home and have nothing to do with it. Unlike developers, I feel we are always networking, coding, and creating outside of any traditional job we might have. Therefore, apps like Instagram can feel frivolous to us. But it depends on what you use it for.
It's great that you are over Instagram!
Same here, and now I can feel the freedom from the peer pressure, toxicity and endless memes bombarding my eyes.
I'm so happy that I'm over it.
That really awesome, Now you can focus on much better things!