Instagram: A World-Wide Love Affair As I sit restlessly in my lecture trying to pass the time, an all too familiar rumble in the pocket of my jeans awakens my interest and energy. I discreetly pull my bulky smart phone from the depths of my lent-lined pockets to find that the girl I have been crushing on lately has liked my Instagram photo. Making sure to remain undetected by the prying eyes of my professor, I gently return my phone to its resting place while maintaining a star-struck smile across my mug. Much to my gratification, my future lover has liked the adorable photo of my puppy and I resting underneath the saggy pine tree that occupies my backyard. I begin to think of how she felt upon seeing the photo. Does my angel think that I am cute? Does she want to be more than friends with me? But wait, what if she thinks I am repulsive and only loves my precious puppy? All of these thoughts race simultaneously through my mind seconds after I have received her Instagram like on my picture.
Eventually, I regain my composure and confidence. I reflect once more and evaluate that my love does in fact adore me and that my insecurities are only a sign of how much I want her. It was official, my Instagram liker would soon one day be my sweetheart. Delightful flatteries as witnessed in my own debacle occur every second in our modern world that is now infinitely connected by the powerful sharing capabilities of Instagram. In short, Instagram is a downloadable program available to all smart phones that enables uses to upload photos, tag users, and comment/like the photos available on their account’s stream. Currently, there are more than two hundred million active users on Instagram according to Donna Tam’s article “Instagram Passes 200m Active Users” published on www.CNET.com. Instagram’s success can be attributed to its extremely simple and intuitive interface that allows users to see high resolution photos of their liking without a myriad of advertisements trying to impede their view. Additionally, Instagram functions as an intimate social network that connects friends and strangers alike, uniting them by their choice in photo selection and comments. Like my story with the Instagram angel who liked my photo upload, any user can experience this emotional boost that validates their artistic expression via photography. The seemingly invaluable software Instagram does in fact have a staggering price value.