Instagram is clearly one of the most popular social media platforms out there. Being visual creatures, humans are undoubtedly appreciative of photos that detail their friends’ or relatives’ lives. The photo-sharing application has even served to increase the celebrity status of entertainers and other famous personalities who have found ways to maximize their Instagram usage.
If you are currently trying to decide whether to sign up for an Instagram account or not, then it might be helpful to consider the pros and cons of this particular application:
The advantages of Instagram are as follows:
- It makes sharing photos so much easier. Not only does the app enable you to share photos with friends, relatives, or even strangers who come from all over the world, but it also allows you to use hashtags that organize your posts. This way, you and other users can refer to these hashtags to quickly find the sort of content you want to see.
- It is equipped with features that allow you to edit your photos. Thanks to certain Instagram features, you can crop undesirable elements out of a photo or zoom in on something you want to bring into focus. There are also a myriad of filters that you can use to enhance or subdue the colors in a photograph to achieve the effect that you want.
- Instagram can help you make new friends and pave the way for some new discoveries. Anyone can follow anyone on Instagram, so you may very well find people who share the same interests that you do. Either that or you may learn about amazing new places or products just by perusing your daily Instagram newsfeed.
As for the disadvantages, they include the following:
- People who do not know how to use the privacy features can end up compromising their safety and security. Location tags, for instance, are meant to guide users over to certain events. However, some users might utilize them to identify where a certain photo was taken. If such information was made public and it happened to fall into the wrong hands, it can be used for sinister purposes such as planning a break-in or even initiating identity theft.
- Spending too much time on Instagram can lead to feelings of anxiety or depression. Since Instagram users generally curate the sort of lives they present on social media, they usually opt to post only the highlights. For example, any Instagram user can post photos from a weekend of partying at an expensive club but will most likely not post images of their mounting credit card debt (which is probably the direct result of such an extravagant lifestyle). Thus, the virtual world of Instagram can present an unrealistic view of what life is like for most people, and those viewing these images may feel depressed or anxious when their own lives do not seem to measure up.
- Excessive usage can encourage narcissism. It is all too easy to post selfies several times a day on Instagram, and striving to get more likes and comments can be quite addictive for some people.
Learn more about our DIY “Instagram Marketing 101” training program.
