I Don't Like What Liking Instagram Says About Me

After reading an article about Why Instagram Will Be The King of Social Media in 2014 (And How To Leverage It), I decided it was probably time to start learning how to use it. I had actually started an Instagram account in early 2011, way before all the cool kids were using it, but it sat mostly dormant until a couple of days ago when my friend Ian came over for dinner and showed me how he was using it, hashtagging the crap out of things.

This conversation reminded him to post a picture he’d taken of his dog earlier that day, so he posted it. Throughout dinner, he kept looking at his phone, elated that more strangers liked his photo, and I was kind of on his case about it…in fairness, it is a pretty cool picture: http://instagram.com/p/j8FmnipDvk/.

The next day, I started posting some of my #beerporn. 

I have to say; I was kind of thrilled to have a bunch of strangers liking my photos too! They found me! That means they really like me! But the thing is – they don’t. When I take a step back and really think about it, I wonder, “What kind of insecure need for validation does this fill?” If I’m posting pictures so strangers will “like” me…I feel myself spiraling into self-loathing. I wonder how in the world my priorities got so terribly skewed.

But, this is a thing. I would guess millions upon millions of people are feeling the same way.

It got me wondering about why Facebook doesn’t feel the same way? Is it because I have reliable group of friends on whom I can count to regularly validate me by liking, commenting and sharing whatever it is that I post. Or is it because Facebook (for me at least) is so seven years ago. Who knows?

The point is that I’m concerned. I’m worried about being part of a society that rewards pandering to strangers. I’m worried about us not living the life that’s right in front of us. But ultimately, I’m worried that Ian is going to get more “likes” than me.