Tag Archives: instagram

Little by little, I’m becoming more vulnerable on this blog. What is Houston doing to me? It’s making me soft…

Or maybe it’s age. Or maybe it’s because I’m choosing to be more willing to share. It’s probably Brene Brown and Jamie Tworkowski, too. WHO KNOWS? But now I know that I’m circling…

Anyhow, I’m not talking professional life today, I’m talking about personal. And this may be my personal blog, but I find that Instagram is the top platform where I get pretty personal. With that being said, I can tell you that my Instagram is an inaccurate representation of my life. (But isn’t everyone’s Instagram?)

When I post things anywhere on the Internet, I try to be as authentic as possible. Even with my food puns. I choose not to post certain things. However, I never intend to mislead someone to thinking that I have some ideal life when there are times that home girl is crying while she watches a Shaytards vlog. Home girl is me, by the way. But I guess there’s a large part that is uncontrollable. Because people will piece together whatever they choose how to perceive your life. And it doesn’t matter how authentic or genuine you are trying to be. I’m still circling…

Here it is, TL; DR: If I post sad Instagrams, is that wrong? Am I searching for pity? If I only post happy Instagrams, am I being unauthentic? Will people think that I’m a back-door-bragger? Am I doing it to accumulate Likes, comments or is it something else?

I really think about these questions. Granted, I post [some of] them anyway, but there are those thoughts that cross my mind. I mean, what has it come to for me? Why do I worry? Why do I care? Am I overthinking it (this is what I tell myself a lot. It’s just a photo sharing tool.) What am I searching for? Am I searching at all?

What is driving my compulsion to share?

Sometimes it is to brag
Sometimes it’s to update people on my life (but not every aspect)
Sometimes I do it because I liked the picture I took
Sometimes it’s to document a moment
Sometimes it’s to document a person
Sometimes it’s just because
Sometimes it’s to be punny
Sometimes it’s to feel nostalgia

Here’s a real personal example: This past week hasn’t been the greatest week. It’s been filled with a little bit of everything: anxiety, disappointment, hurt, sadness. And I posted this Instagram. It may have been one of my most sad and honest Instagrams. It didn’t get that many Likes. Not as many as the one that followed, which was a “happier one.” Why is that? And then I think, why care? I shared a real moment. I wanted to, because it was accurate. I tried to end it on a good note, because in ~~reality~~ in my mind- no one wants to find a sad Instagram on their feed…and I didn’t either. 1) Because that’s a downer, no? but 2) With the sadness I felt, I am surrounded by people who wanted me to feel better, to talk with me, to spend time with me. I felt thankful and encouraged, and I had to share that moment of clarity.

Anyway, that’s how I Instagram. It’s a part of my life. Hello.

Feel free to piece what you think my life is (@thutexas). Or, feel free to share with me what you think about Instagram.

Update: I totally wrote a post similar to this, with similar feelings. So I guess I’m not a robot after all!

Over It: Instagram

October 9, 2014

General

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Instagram is the worst. I can’t deal with a zillion hashtags. I also can’t deal with selfie-dominated accounts. Who comes up with those popular hashtags (e.g. #tbt, #wcw, #vscophile, etc.)? But more importantly, how do I coin one?

#thuinfinityandbeyond

Instagram is the worst…and the best. In a battle of social media, it would be a toss up between Instagram and Twitter.
Ugh, I had the dumbest first Instagram, a picture of Pralinutta with the ‘1977’ filter. The concept of ‘Likes’ had not polluted my brain, and I was happy with 5 Likes. Oh, how the times have changed. Now if I don’t make the “Rule of 11,” the picture I take runs risk of getting deleted. It’s silly, right? I’m still trying to recover from the instant-gratification, filter-crazy, caption-obsessed life I once found myself entranced in. But I’m not so different from the selfie people, because I take selfies too.

Forgive me for being that girl, but I’m divulging a lot of personal secrets here. I know that I’m not the only one. I won’t name names, but I have had conversations with people just about Instagram. It’s no longer an app, it’s a concept. It turned into this THING that gives people a controlled identity. An idea of the person, anything but the real person. But I guess that’s understood with every social media platform.

My rant aside, I really do love Instagram. So I guess I’m not over it, and I probably won’t ever be over it. I like sharing the pictures from my adventures, “boring” or not. I try to keep it real, and I’m not trying to produce a fantastical image for myself. Other people will, but the more I think about it, I think it’s inevitable. There’s always (60% of the time) a question I ask myself before I Instagram: “Why?” Then I mentally smack myself on the head and refute, “Why not?”

You do you. Even if you hashtag every word, add 5 filters, and take selfies (no nudies, ok?) everyday.
But remember: Be aware, be present, and always check your grammar (please).

My first Instagram

Sidebar: It’s time to get “Internet real”

April 10, 2013

Sidebar

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From the past week, I have “digitally” run into these two articles: this one and this one.

I apologize in advance if this post reads like a stream of consciousness…it’s because it is. For topics like these (i.e. social media, sharing, Facebook, etc.), my mind and thoughts toward the subject matter are right in the middle- I cannot find myself leaning toward one way or another, but perhaps if I publish my thoughts, you can help me make my decision.

It is the 21st century, a time where we are in full-sharing mode. I don’t know whether it’s the compulsion to show people who we are through the internet or whether one is actually capturing these moments, genuinely. Here’s what I mean by that: I am guilty. I have Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, this WordPress, and I share a lot things on each. What I also do is selectively choose what I post on each social media account. *GASP* Now you know my secrets. I select and it differs. Now they’re similar…but different. Twitter is more of ‘story-vomit’ account. If you look at my IG, you’d think my life is only about bikes, food, and wit (ha!). On my Facebook, it’s a ‘here-I-found-this-link/story/picture-and-I’m-going-share-it” kind of interface. WordPress is a lot about feelings, you know that already.

The first article link talks about the increasing ‘share-effect’ we seem to have with the world. You should read it, it talks about this new gadget called Memoto which is a small camera that you clip to your shirt or hat and it takes a picture every thirty-seconds. It is literally documenting your every move…unless you stick it in your pocket or face it down on a table. What are your thoughts on this? What is the purpose of taking pictures now? It goes back to my previous paragraph: is it about the compulsion and your picture saying, “hey, here’s where I am, here’s what I’m doing, here’s who I am, look at me” OR “here, I’m taking a picture, I want to remember this moment right here forever and I want to document it”. I think there is a huge difference between the two but we are blurring the line that separates it.

The second article I came across last week is pretty popular, I’m sure you read it. The Relevant Magazine article entitled, “Instagram’s Envy Effect”. Yeah, I am very guilty for that. Even before this article I’ve thought about it and maybe you have too. This “internet reality” is kind of an oxymoron, no? We select 1 or 2 pictures, throw a filter, attach some hashtags and bing, bang, boom, that’s our life. But it’s not. It’s not all sun flares, vignettes, and clever captions (although, that’s what I think it is about sometimes…). This kind of Instagram envy, internet reality sucks you into this alternate way of thinking that a person’s social life is a mirror of their real life. It sounds stupid saying it out loud but there are countless times that I catch myself having these thoughts from the Relevant Magazine article. I mean, these articles resonate with me because I can relate, I am guilty!

What started as a way to connect almost became a competition to me. A competition to say, “look at all of these cool things that I’m doing but in reality I’m probably sitting on my computer reading articles like this.” Where I find myself torn on this matter is whether to continue to share. Again, it’s hard to in this context to really see what my intentions are. Am I sharing this to gain attention and views? Am I sharing this to pour out my soul and secrets of my social life? I think I’m somewhere floating in the middle. I’m not asking for views, I’m not telling you about my blood type, I’m simply sharing my thoughts and hoping you can relate. I think that’s what WordPress is for, that’s essentially why I write this blog anyway.

I guess what I’m trying to say is this- I’m having a hard time connecting the end of this blog post to the beginning of it. My participation in social media is something of an unstoppable force, not excusable by the industry I chose to go into, but rather my deep interest in the social media phenomena and I get caught up with it very easily. What I’m really trying to say is this- I’m going to be more conscious about it. Tell me if I’m sharing too much. Just tell me, “T.M.I.,**” because that’s what we used to say.

**T.M.I. = too much information