As someone who loves my privacy and alone time, I'm having a difficult time trying to toroidal transformer understand the fascination with Instagrams, an app that allows users to take photos with their cameras then apply a nostalgic digital filter which makes the photos look as if they were taken in the 1970s or with a Polaroid. First of all, I don't understand the fascination of wanting pictures that look like they were taken in the 1970s and second of all, I can't imagine being comfortable with having my insignificant daily movements being recorded for family and friends everywhere I go.
One of my friends loves having Instagrams recording everything in her life. Wherever she goes, she takes pictures and posts them on Facebook. She told me about some of the pictures she's taken and shared with family and friends and I can't imagine anyone being interested in seeing them.
There are even photo contests for these non-events. Most of the photographs are of subjects that are just as uninspiring as the prizes given for the winners.
It used to be a chore to be invited to someone's house and have the hosts pulling out picture albums of their vacation or pulling out a slide projector or a screen projector of the husband and wife and their 2.5 children and the family dog posing for the camera.
And that was in one sitting. Now, you're subjected to daily sittings, watching people looking at the paint rusting on cars in the various places they visit.
Obviously, I'm in the minority on this issue because within a few months, Instagram had 100 million active users and there were 40 million photos posted daily to their service. My head is spinning at the thought of people snapping pictures of everything they are seeing, day in and day out, and other people having to sit so long to view them, day in and day out.
I looked at this site to try to see what I'm missing. Nothing. As I sat there looking at these pictures I kept thinking about all the projects that I could and should be working on.
The only thing that it accomplished was that I remembered my little Kodak Instamatic camera and that I didn't take award-winning pictures with it. And now everyone is taking the same kind of pictures that are in my photo album, the ones that would only be appreciated by me. But, at least I didn't invite everyone over to spend an evening looking at them, wishing they were somewhere else.