BUILDING BETTER HABITS
A Stylish Smartphone to access Instagram /Photo Credit /Tracy Le Blanc
What is Instagram?
Instagram
is a social media platform known for photo and video sharing. The application
has been in the marketplace since, 2010 and currently boasts of at least one
third of the world population as its users. Based on Meta’s quarter three
earnings call from the financial year ending 2022. The dad disclosed that the
kid has at least two billion active monthly users. That number makes Instagram
the third most famous social media network in the world. Bursting in popularity
at the top is Instagram’s big sister Facebook with active monthly users of at
least three billion. Sitting on the second place bragging rights, is your
favorite video-sharing platform, YouTube with at least two point five billion
active monthly users. By country, India
contributes the highest number of Instagram users (385 million). Followed by
the United States (166 million), Brazil (133 million), Indonesia (99 million),
and Turkey (not the bird) but the country (Türkiye)
(59 million).
So What Makes Instagram Popular?
At
this unprecedented growth rate, we can only ask, why do most of you love
Instagram so much? The answer is simple. Instagram operates on a mobile-first
protocol, which means that it is best experienced on a mobile device such as,
your favorite smartphone. The second feature that makes Instagram a darling of
the internet is the user-friendly interface. This means that you can easily
navigate through this application by yourself with little to no technical
complexities. For example, opening an Instagram account requires an email or
phone number and your photo. Resources that you already have. regardless of
which operating systems your smartphone runs on; you can access Instagram on
Apple Store or Google Play Store. The visual content focus is the winner feature
as it allows you to share your best photos with your friends on Instagram.
What’s the Kicker?
Internet’s
favorite social media is addictive. This is where an Instagram problem arises.
The psychological impact that comes in the form of the endless scroll from your
feed. Instagram is always ready to take you to the next story every time you
finish the last story. The party never ends with Instagram. It keeps you on the
dancing floor and makes the music so sweet that you cannot leave. I think this
is where William Williams poem ‘The Dance,’ finds its relevance. Anyway, don’t
take me seriously on that one. But let us look at the problem more critically.
The design of Instagram as a social networking platform comes with addictive
features. Perhaps we can argue that the engineers behind the design or just the
founders of Instagram idea nailed it. The purpose, which Instagram was created
for is well served by the manner in which Instagram was designed.
The
concept of bringing people together and keeping them engaged is effectively met
by Instagram. This is how Instagram wins your heart because it gives you what
you want. The Instagram algorithm is built for engagement and keeping users on
the platform. When you follow your favorite accounts and perform simple effortless
tasks such as, liking, clicking on the posts, and following, Instagram takes
notes. Using its most hard working algorithm. Your feed is always filled with
similar content that you like. Thereby, helping you to find more meaning on the
platform. This is how you end up spending more time on Instagram. The more
stories you discover the sweeter the process. You can laugh, love, and cry all
under one roof. Instagram knows how to keep us users coming back. And I like
the fact that the application does its job so well.
An enthusiastic Instagram user having fun /Photo /Andrea Piacquadio
There
is absolutely nothing wrong with this type of design. This is the kind of
innovation the world needs. However, creating such a lovable and addictive
application such as, Instagram should come with warnings. Not everyone is
disciplined enough to access the application and do what took him or her there
and leave on time. There are users who cannot make those decisions. And the
more these users stay on the application. The more they get affected even
without knowing. Nobody sees the harm in the unlimited scrolling on the
platform. In fact, that endless scrolling is the unique selling proposition of
the social media. You will never know that you could be addicted to Instagram.
You only learn later after the damage has been done. Your physical and mental
health are all impacted negatively. For example, when you scroll through your
best stories, you rarely move. All your attention is normally on the visual
content you are viewing or reading.
And
with a highly replenished feed, you can easily lose track of time. Because you
have so many things to engage with on platform such as, stories, memes, funny
videos, and celebrities. While reading, you rarely make active decisions. The
good-feeling hormone from your brain would have been stimulated by the content
you are engaging with. You get a lot of entertainment and fun scrolling through
different stories. You are genuinely having a good time and loving everything
you see. So you become hooked to Instagram. It is these sweet feelings and the
fun that you get from Instagram that keeps you going back. When your dopamine
is activated, you just can’t leave because the likes, comments, and follows are
all interesting. You are talking with your friends or creating awareness of
your brand. And you are seeing the results in terms of likes, shares, and
comments. So the dance continues.
Addiction
Addiction
to Instagram comes from endless scrolling and readily available content on your
feed. Instagram algorithm keeps refreshing your feed to make the next story
available once you are done with the last one. The content on Instagram just never ends.
Thereby, rising a mental health risk, especially for younger users who cannot
make critical decisions. The probability of young users spending more time on
Instagram at the expense of other tasks and activities is one. You can easily
get addicted to Instagram without you knowing it because you enjoy being there
so much. You get everything you want all at once. And the application
encourages you to keep going without any restrictions. Users who cannot make
leave decisions don’t stop scrolling. Thus, increasing the chances of you
suffering from serious mental health cases.
Sleepless Nights
Instagram
can give you sleepless nights, especially when you use it close to bed time.
The ten minutes that you initially scheduled to spend on the social network
eventually transition to an hour or more. And your sleep time gets disrupted.
You end up spending so much time on Instagram than you anticipated because of
the never-ending content on the platform. New things keep popping up. Thereby,
making you obligated to check them out. The more time you spend on the
application, the harder it becomes to sleep after you stop using the social
media. If you end up not getting enough sleep, your other responsibilities will
suffer. For example, if you have work or school next day, your performance will
not be good. Your performance will go down because you will be irritated at
certain point in your day. The lack of quality sleep will destroy your mood at
work or school.
A determined Instagram user catching up with her friends /Credit /Andrea Piacquadio
A bad
mood will ruin a good day. You will be reacting with events, which do not need
an overreaction. Your tiredness will make you less concentrated. The lack of
concentration will land you in more problems, which will make you more upset.
Someone that does not concentrate on what is being taught or said in class will
have a hard time completing homework. A less concentrated employee will miss
important instructions, thereby, opening doors to errors. The small or big
omissions will upset both the employee and the employer. The mistake can result
in angering a client. Business can be lost and no one will be happy with such
an outcome. These are just some of the consequences of spending too much time
on Instagram. Ending up with a sleepless night is never intentional. It just happens
because Instagram grabs your attention and you lose track of time.
Anxiety
The
worst Instagram problem is anxiety. When you run into all these problems of
addiction and sleepless nights, you can easily suffer from anxiety. The little
stresses of not getting things right because you are not well rested can
transition into serious mental health. Anxiety is a growing mental health
problem in modern society. At least four percent of people around the world
suffer from anxiety disorder according to World Health Organization. There are
various underlying causes of anxiety. Social media use is just one of them.
People who do not use social media responsibly suffer from anxiety. Both adults
and young adults are impacted negatively with social media at different degrees.
The negative impact comes from poor social media use. Children and young adults
are the most affected with social media addiction and mental health problems
such as, anxiety.
Instagram
is a wonderful social media platform serving its role in the marketplace. There
is so much that you can learn from the application when you use it for the
right purpose. An Instagram problem only occurs when you don’t make responsible
decisions and manage your time well. If you become a careless user of Instagram,
you will not only end up with an Instagram addiction but also a public health
problem. The addictive level is high. As a result, responsibility is needed.
Allocating a specific amount of time on the application. And being disciplined
enough to stick within the timeline is very much needed. You only need to be
the adult on the dance floor. And know when to leave. Social media owners
cannot make this decision for you. Moreover, innovators will not include limits
on their innovation because they are worried about their potential users
getting harmed by their innovations. You are on your own on these social media
streets. And you must employ your common sense.
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