Instagram. Where has it all gone wrong?

Mayday said:

I feel like it started more as a photography app but then got overrun with influencers.
I also hate the fact they've messed up the timeline so its no longer chronological. What was the point in that?
I tend to just follow people I really like now or people I know.

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Exactly this! When it first started, it was just a photo sharing app. I learned loads about photography from some great people and I met some truly lovely people through it. This will sound wanky but it really had a ‘community’ feel about it and was a lovely positive feeling place (unlike say, Facebook). And then, of course, a few years later, FB bought it out and found a way to ‘monetise’ it with the ads. And other brands found a way to stealthily sell us shit through influencers who were only concerned with making themselves money and promoting an unattainable lifestyle.
It makes me laugh when the big influencers bang on about how IG has become ‘such a negative place’ these days. If they want to know why that is, they only have to look at their own feeds to see why that is.

FrannyGallops said:

Exactly this! When it first started, it was just a photo sharing app. I learned loads about photography from some great people and I met some truly lovely people through it. This will sound wanky but it really had a ‘community’ feel about it and was a lovely positive feeling place (unlike say, Facebook). And then, of course, a few years later, FB bought it out and found a way to ‘monetise’ it with the ads. And other brands found a way to stealthily sell us shit through influencers who were only concerned with making themselves money and promoting an unattainable lifestyle.
It makes me laugh when the big influencers bang on about how IG has become ‘such a negative place’ these days. If they want to know why that is, they only have to look at their own feeds to see why that is.

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I’ve made friends through Instagram. It did have a lovely community feel at one point but it’s not the same anymore It’s sad seeing people feeling shit about their lives thanks to all the bullshit on Instagram. ‘Being famous on Instagram is like being rich in Monopoly money’

emmer_mo said:

Makes you think what the next phase of social media will be.

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As long as Facebook doesn't own it then it'll be a better world. FB are just the worst out of the big 4 tech companies imo.

Maybe something like Steemit / dtube or minds.com will take off

Gymer_crystal said:

I used to love Instagram. Seeing people’s homes and getting inspiration, sharing ideas etc. Now it just turns my stomach with all the “AD” or “KINDLY GIFTED” hashtags. I mean come on we’d all have beautiful homes if no one had to pay for it and a national corporate company came along and said “there you go, have a new top spec kitchen for free... go flog it to the masses and get their hard earned money from them.” Then there’s just the shite that some accounts pedal. From Hampton and astley towels to the lotto, it’s gone from the sublime to the ridiculous

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I deactivated mine in August 2017. I loved it at first and found it so inspirational. After a while,I started playing the compare game to all these “aspirational” accounts on the explore page and feeling shit about myself.

I briefly reactivated it before Christmas because I was decorating my house and seen a few accounts linked on Pinterest that were the vibe I was going for,within a few weeks I felt my self esteem plummet and got rid. To be fair I’ve suffered with very low self esteem and poor body image since I was a kid (nearly 40 now) and when I was in my teens had to see a psychologist. I used to hoard magazines and compare myself to the gorgeous celebs,he told me to stop buying them and I did. I feel so sorry for kids growing up with Instagram and comparing themselves. How do they avoid social media when all their friends have it. It gives me the sads.

Yel said:

As long as Facebook doesn't own it then it'll be a better world. FB are just the worst out of the big 4 tech companies imo.

Maybe something like Steemit / dtube or minds.com will take off

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I feel like Facebook tries too hard, like with the stories that no one uses and now they have a 'let people know what music you like' thing which reminds me of MySpace. I'm actually surprised its still going as the only useful thing really is the messenger option.

I wonder how much longevity a lot of the apps will have a lot of old sites like MySpace, Bebo, Piczo all died out eventually.

Everyone’s 90% ad now days. No one just uses Instagram to upload photos of their life