I get it. I get that we all want to look like a glamorous celebrity by posting our Cobb salads on Instagram (and let's be honest, you probably didn't really enjoy that Cobb salad). I understand that. I am guilty of posting something on Instagram in hopes to look like my life is immensely interesting. (I am sitting on my bed with a glass of milk and Lily Allen music in the background, so that shows how interesting I really am.)
Luckily, I have not been guilty of posting pictures of my half-eaten food because I know that no one really cares that I had homemade mac and cheese for lunch, but I sometimes enjoy seeing pictures of other people's Starbucks drinks (for some people, that is their lunch. Yum).
One of the things I have noticed from many people is the "importance" the amount of likes has become. I am shocked by how many people spend their time trying to take the perfect Instagram picture to post. Fine, fine. I am guilty of this too. Sometimes, if I feel that something is exciting enough to take a picture of, I will attempt to look as attractive as possible (whether I succeeded or not is debatable). I am not sure if this is a way for all of us to one-up each other in the game of "Who has the better photo?" or if we are all craving attention from each other. I think we have all fallen guilty to the idea of becoming instantly famous through Instagram photos/videos because so many people have become sensations in one night. For some of us, we just want to show off a "hot" photo that we took on the beach when were on vacation in a tropical paradise in the middle of winter.
Unfortunately, the idea of "the perfect Instagram photo" has taken over some of our minds, and it has become silly to watch. We have become obsessed who liked someone's photo and how many likes a photo has received. I have seen situations in my own life where I am asked which border would be the best to use to get the most likes on a photo. I am actually a hypocrite for calling these people out because I have been guilty of doing this on my Twitter page. I have not asked someone which tweet is the best to post, but I do not tweet much unless I find it to be something that people would like instead of a tweet that describes the amount of people at the mall that day.
For a moment, I am going to describe some of the Instagram photos that I have seen the most during my time on the site.
1. The bikini shot: No, I am not talking about the photo that someone took of you posing at the beach (while also trying to work fantastic "beach" hair). I am talking about the one you take of yourself in the new bikini you bought at the store the day before the beach trip. Yes, I am talking about the one where you can see their entire body laying on a towel, and they are very close to a nip-slip.
2. Tilt Tuesday: The photo/audition for Cirque de Solei where you put your leg behind your head in various locations. These locations can include bridges, the middle of the street, backyard, school or by the pool. Basically, wherever you can make people around you uncomfortable.
3. Throwback Thursday: I am fan of Throwback Thursday photos, but I am only a fan if the photo is not from last week. I have even seen a couple that were from earlier that week. No.
4. Bible Quotes: Straight-up Bible quotes. As I say for Twitter bios, no one is going to pick up the Bible and find the passage that you put on your Twitter bio. The same rule for Instagram applies.
5. Man Crush Monday/Woman Crush Wednesday: I always love seeing which "crush" Instagram-ers will post for these two days, but I am still waiting for the day where someone posts Vladimir Putin as their Man Crush Monday.
6. Selfie Sunday: I thought Instagram was supposed to be for selfies every day? Isn't #selfiefordays a thing?
Bottom line, we Instagram-ers have these staple photos, but we cannot get caught up on how many likes it has versus how many likes it should get it. We don't have time for that, and it is giving us more anxiety than it should. Once we cross the territory of questioning what border or frame would be best to have the most likes, then we know that we have to turn the ship and actually think about other things in life. Maybe I should start by doing that myself because I already deleted a couple of photos off my Instagram from before #SelfieSunday became a thing (circa 2012 -- Throwback Thursday).
Back to my fellow Instagram-ers, let's be honest: the photo that you want to post probably looks fantastic with all of the borders and filters and all, but let's all just calm down. It will get likes. Somebody will comment that you look like a "princess with a skirt on" and you will probably respond with "No, YOU are the princess!" For now, if you are staring at the one photo, just post it and eat a cookie to calm you down. Life goes on, hun.