When we think about the modern day photo sharing applications, typically many people may think about Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram. Instagram was one of the fastest growing photo sharing apps when it was first launched - and with 1.4 billion users, it’s still growing fast today. Instagram obtained millions of users within the first couple months that it was released on the App Store. Instagram was created and launched in October 2010 by Kevin Systrom. It took only 8 weeks for Kevin and software engineers to develop the application before it was launched. By 2010, both Facebook and Twitter had already been launched on the App Store and they were both fairly popular apps at the time. Twitter gave users the ability to post “Tweets”, which consisted of only 140 characters of text alone. Facebook gave users the option to post both text and pictures separately, or to post them together. Instagram was created to give users the opportunity to post pictures and images with captions. Instagram was more personal than Twitter because it reached viewers with photos, captions and comments instead of just text. Instagram was more focused than Facebook because Facebook gave users the option to post over 100 photos, links, text, and other content. Instagram, was created primarily to be a photo sharing platform with the added features of text based captions and a type of user-generated rating system consisting of likes and comments.
Kevin Systrom learned how to code on the nights and weekends as he built a prototype of an application called Burbn. Burbn let users check in, share photos, and post about what they were doing. Systrom met with two venture capitalists and they collectively decided to limit Burbn down to photos, comments, and likes. They then all decided on the name Instagram, which was a twist on the combination of the words “instant” and “telegram”. They focused on the photo-sharing aspect of the app in hopes that it would be easy and convenient for end users. After resolving errors and fine-tuning the app, it was launched on October 6, 2010. On the day after the launch of Instagram it had already acquired 25,000 users. By the middle of December, just two months after launch, Instagram had 1 million users.
Since 2010, Instagram has grown immensely and has become a daily part of many peoples lives. It has changed how people communicate and use social media. Instagram is a great way for people to stay connected with friends and family. Being able to share photos and videos of your daily life is a fun way to show what you’re doing. Instagram can also be considered mobilized activism. It is a way to stay updated on current events and to bring attention to worthy causes. Being able to share images with captions on Instagram was a unique feature for its time. It can be used as a storytelling tool as well. Although many people use Instagram as a way to keep up with the lives of their loved ones and/or current events, there is also a downside to Instagram and social media in general.
Social media can become addicting when used everyday. It is estimated that over 210 million people worldwide suffer from internet and social media addictions. Many people spend hours on their social media and technology devices daily. This addiction can also cause lack of motivation and depression. For example, many people, particularly adolescents and young adults, see just the highlights of lives of their friends, family, celebrities and strangers. They begin to believe that they themselves are inferior or can’t possibly live up to the beauty standards or the amazing lives of others. This causes issues with mental health, particularly self esteem. Despite Instagram being an incredible digital tool for sharing and communicating, users should be wary of how often they are scrolling and how they are processing the content. Overall, Instagram has impacted our connected world in various ways, both good and bad. It is one of the top rated photo sharing apps, a useful tool to stay connected and share experiences, but it can be detrimental to the mental health of the users if not monitored. Education on the perils of social media is of key importance, particularly for young people. It is clear that society is lagging on educating about the mental health consequences of such rapidly expanding, digitally connected tools which have become ubiquitous in the hands of people of all ages.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/7-unexpected-ways-instagram-has-changed-the-world/539032/#:~:text=It's%20mobilized%20Activism,inspiring%20others%20to%20get%20involved.
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/102615/story-instagram-rise-1-photo0sharing-app.asp#:~:text=The%20first%20prototype%20of%20Instagram,25%2C000%20users%20in%20one%20day.
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