Instagram has emerged as the default place to get famous. The world of Instagram is nothing less than that of the Showbiz, a place where everything is nice and glittery and everyone is beautiful. However, is Instagram really the awesome place it presents itself to be? Maybe, no. Behind all the glamour, there are some serious shortcomings. Yet, it cannot be said that Instagram is terrible, by any stretch. Here are the pros and cons of Instagram.
List of Pros and Cons of Instagram
Pros
1) A More Visual Medium
Instagram is all about sharing photos. From sharing your new haircut and dress to some new cuisine or location, there is nothing you cannot share with the world. A large number of amazing filters makes it an even more beautiful experience.
2) Effective Promotion
Originally began (like most social media sites) as a way to connect with others, Instagram today works as an effective marketing strategy. Established brands reserve their Instagram pages for showcasing their products, while new startups find it easier to create an audience via images here. Even individual like models and artists can showcase their works and create a fan base. Instagram serves as an important platform today for social media marketing.
3) More Appealing Interface
One of the biggest advantages of Instagram is its interface. With so much visual content, you would expect it to be slow and messy. Contrary to that, Instagram is very neat and organized. Unlike Facebook, there is no flood of information that you can barely process. Also, the platform allows you to organize your profile in a very efficient manner, such that it has a nice appeal to it. This appeal is one of the reasons why people rushed towards Instagram despite other photo-sharing platforms.
4) Great for Travelers
Even though unintentionally, Instagram has emerged as a great hub for travelers. The geo-tagging feature works smoothly, allowing you to add the location of the pictures. Furthermore, you can see the other (public) photos shared by people who were at the same location.
5) Strict Privacy
Unlike other platforms, Instagram takes privacy very seriously. If you want your photos to remain private between your followers, then private they shall remain. There are no means to bypass the privacy settings. Even the profile picture is private. Instagram also doesn’t allow the downloading of photos, though there are other means to do that.
6) Effective features
Unlike Facebook (who gives a variety of useless features), Instagram is clear about what they should provide their users. Apart from photo-sharing and filters, there is also the feature to share videos and live streams. You can also share stories, which would disappear after a day. Quite smartly, Instagram provides additional functionalities via other apps, like Boomerang and Photo Grid.
Cons
1) Over-dependent of images
The greatest asset of Instagram is also its greatest liability. Since Instagram was founded as a photo-sharing website, it has to remain that way. However, the ability to only share photos has restricted its audience. Facebook and Twitter, on the other hand, have attracted people who prefer sharing textual updates. Though Instagram has now included video-sharing too, it still cannot hope to compete with the market of Facebook.
2) Creates the need for a fake life
The most negative phenomenon observed after the popularity of Instagram was the sudden surge of teenage celebs. People became famous overnight for something that went viral, garnering thousands of followers. This created a craving in everyone’s heart to become famous. So many people tend to create a fake life, which they share on Instagram to get famous. This need for validation and fame is highly toxic, and teenagers are the ones most affected by it.
3) Less Features on Web
If you have ever used the web version of Instagram, then you might have realized that it lacks many features. Instagram is keeping its users close to the app and not providing much access on the web version. However, Instagram is slowly rolling out the same features of the app on its official website, like stories and others. But we cannot expect all the features on the web soon.
4) Addictive!
Another disadvantage is Instagram addiction. Like most social media platforms, Instagram suffers from the toxic addiction. A huge number of people spend their days glued to the app. Even those who do not seek validation by uploading pictures spend entire days viewing the photos of others. In any scenario, this is a terrible waste of time.
5) Technical Drawbacks
Despite the great interface and features, Instagram suffers from many technical drawbacks. The platform is optimized only for the app, hence its web-version is terrible. The images are not optimized for every shape, like on Facebook. The privacy settings are global, and cannot be set for individual photos.
Conclusion
Instagram is an amazing app and a great platform for sharing photos and exploring the world. However, caution has to be exercised while using it, as now you are now aware of the pros and cons of Instagram. The need for validation, obsession for fame and addiction to an app are all toxic behavior and must be avoided at all costs. As long as you do that, Instagram would remain a great platform for killing the time.
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