Instant INSTAGRAM!

I joined Instagram one fine day in June after deactivating all other social networking platforms. I used to be cynical about Instagram, labelling it as narcissistic people's socialising but after becoming yet another member, I realised there are two sides to everything. Instagram quickly became my favourite virtual hangout for looking at photographic skills of people from around the globe. There's so much quirkiness and lively spirit there. There are some crazy bibliophiles who update such beautifully composed images of their book reads and I am absolutely transfixed by their creative efforts and genius in doing so consistently. One thing that I have learned after being on Instagram is that it runs on dedication of its members. If people weren't so keen on uploading and updating their travel, food, book images, it wouldn't interest cynics like me to actually get up and check what all the hype is all about.

I now understand what it is like breaking my own prejudices against people who photograph and document their lives, not because it is interesting or they are narcissists but in fact, because they are trying to reach the humans that we have buried underneath our globalised corporate facades. It is because we are losing the eventual face-to-face conversations and gatherings with each other that we take to opening ourselves virtually in front of strangers through media like Instagram. I found myself getting involved in the stories people shared along with their photographs and I like how Instagram has now become a story telling forum too. I love sifting through stories that tell of ambitions and accomplishments, of sorrow and happiness, of crazy travel narratives, of book reads that inspire me to read more and be better.

It does provide instant gratification to hear praise from strangers, get kind words of encouragement and who doesn't like it? But we mustn't stop at this. Our lives are circled with more technology than ever before and it is up to us if we must spiral down the endless virtual world realities or suck up the one we live in. Life isn't fair and always rosy but letting oneself astray virtually is defeating our purpose and time on earth. Wouldn't we rather invest this time in finding and adding more meaning to our lives? Fast paced as it has become in the past couple of decades, nothing can awaken us more than a lively human interaction over internet connectivity. It's always nice to find the necessary if not perfect balance required to be in a happy and peaceful state of mind. I don't shy away from social networking platforms but neither do I feel uncomfortable in long conversations with people or large gatherings. One of my friends, as I recall was about to get married to her long time boyfriend and she went to his house to meet his relatives. Upon returning when we met a day or two later, she told me about feeling discomfort with the large number of people she interacted in the house. She said, everywhere she looked, there were his relatives looking back at her, trying to initiate conversation and that she felt lost in that crowd. She said, she didn't know how to behave or handle such large groups of people. It's hardly surprising given that we have now ceased to really live in with large families and the interaction among members has decreased. We no longer feel comfortable in  groups of more than three. While this is not the case with everyone, it is true and alarming to see people drifting away from each other at public gatherings. Whom do we blame but ourselves for widening this gap? To come back to this post, while nothing is wrong with people being tech savvy, its their being slaves to the modern inventions that is a concern. So long they interact be it in the virtual world, perhaps no hope is lost. And with this, I stop myself from writing here and rush to upload my very first Digital Camera photograph on Instagram. I feel extremely nostalgic today!