The Tale of My Instagram

When I first joined Instagram about 5 years ago, I had felt like I had joined the party too late. Everyone I knew had an account. After a few months though, I realized that I was the only one really enjoying the party. Most people didn't even open their page, much less post anything. I then had to turn to people who I didn't know, who were actually using the app in full swing.

I miss the frivolity with which I could post anything, anytime, without the care, without the judgement. What followers and following I had, I had inherited from Twitter and they would be the last to judge me for the frequency with which I posted. The food I ate, the birds I saw, the drops of water, the screenshots of my tweet, random quote-y picture from the Internet, anything interesting I stumbled upon. I didn't care for the likes, the follows. Swipe a few times, the filters seemed to make my pictures better; apply that Lo-Fi border and the post became absolutely gorgeous. Everything was beautiful, every picture worthy. Even the ones taken with my crappy phone.

circa 2013

At one point I discovered that hashtags gave my posts some exposure. I started using pointless hashtags #travel #smile #friends #selfie #weirdshit #philosophy #memories on and on and on. I remember the time when Instagram used to have a Map function. I won't be exaggerating if I said I used to live for that. To be more precise, I used to travel for that (and ain't travelling living?). I would be the happiest when I could add my traveled locations on my Instagram map. It used be feel like an accomplishment of sort. I don't know if people noticed but you had to post the picture with the location on, on the spot for accuracy. Otherwise, you go home and post, you'd be giving your home location. They changed it later.

Then there was this problem of Square Pictures only. I've almost always used a Samsung. And everyone knows Samsung pictures are larger, in a sense they are somehow more rectangular than iphone pictures are. I used to struggle trying to fit all of the fabulousness in the square, or rather trying to decide which part I was going to forgo in the post. I hadn't heard of Whitagram yet. So I did what I do best - I used my resources. For landscape pictures, I took screenshots and posted with the black background; for portraits, I tilted my phone, screenshotted and posted whatever came out. I know it was a tedious job, but I did it diligently.

Whitagram appeared in my life and I fucked up my feed for a while. I had started to find interesting insta-pages and I wanted to be one of the cool kids. Then I gave up on whitagram, because hello! Instagram introduced longer pictures. Also I discovered In-Shot.

circa 2015

Enter better phones, other people who introduced the idea of a perfect feed, the plots and schemes - if I post this after 2 posts they're going to align. Still I was the frivolous post-er of Instagram. Posted what I wanted, posted when I wanted. Travelling made my feed look so much better. If it didn't, I could post more and let the phase pass. I distinctly remember the time when the idea of perfection seeped into my mind. It was not planned but I once happened to post sunset pictures in perfect alignment. Of course I wouldn't always have sunset pictures but the idea stuck. Since then I have always found myself striving to stick to a pattern. If someone visited my page, they would see it (or so I hope; actually I don't think it matters, I have done it all for me. My instagram feed is my eye candy; the patterns not necessarily visible to others). 

Tassie Adventure

Sunset Diaries from South Australia

Aesthetics

Instagram brought multiple picture post option, but I try not to use it much. Insta-stories has been much criticised and yet the most used feature of the app I believe. I used to think I would stay loyal to Snapchat, shaking my head at people who blatantly accepted they would start using Snapchat lesser for Snap stories since Instagram = more audience. I fell victim to the same thinking. Now what I used to post as the main piece (is what I call my actual posts), I simply add in my stories. I know I discovered SnapSeed late but discover I did and now I never use the old Instagram filters. I know there are so many more apps out there that make pictures so much better (artistic?) but I'll take my time. I am not young anymore, I don't have that kind of zeal anymore. But Instagram has a special place in my heart so my posts will never be posted without planning. Even my stories are edited most of the times. Instagram is a stage, the captions my dialogues - always thought out, always rehearsed; the posts actors - always telling a story, a touch of makeup, playing by the script, trying to please the audience, trying to please the maker.