Diffusion of Innovations & Instagram

 

Instagram, founded in 2010 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger became a social media titan that has taken the world by storm. The ability to share photos and videos with hundreds of thousands of people became quite appealing to the modern generations the app goes beyond just sharing funny photos and videos with all your friends though. There are little things like hashtags, filters, and like system, these all function as methods of keeping you on the app. But why do they appeal to younger generations over older?

Part of the reason for Instagram's growth and success was due to the fall off success from the iPhone. Around the same time Instagram hit the iOS store Apple was releasing the iPhone 4. This allowed users to take some what presentable pictures and post them on Instagram with ease. Within 2 years the app had accumulated about 2 million users and showed no signs of slowing down. 

The ease of access to make quick, appealing looking photos was the selling point of Instagram. Its what made it so interesting to so many users and the reason for part of its success. Its why the "early adopters" and, "early majority" users referenced in the diffusion of innovations theory joined onto Instagram. 

As of right now Instagram has 1.3 billion current users and with all that information its hard to understand it all. It seems like each corner of Instagram has its own microbiome with its own culture that is ever changing. 

However with so many users some still choose not to use Instagram and that can be for many reasons. Some believe the negatives outweigh the positives. Some of these negatives include: addiction, increased stressed levels, body shaming, depression. All of these stem from a problem that social media as a whole has created at that is the images and videos posted are only a fraction of someone's life. This can often times give people a false image of what life is like for the people they follow and this can lead to many mental issues. This problem has been a serious topic for research and discussion within the last decade. 

                                                                             

With all these negatives there are definitely some positives with the creation of Instagram. The most common one said is that it allows us to be more easily connected. Another is it allows us to meet many like minded people we could never have any hope of meeting. These however are easy positives that can be said without thought. I personally believe that Instagram has helped push the art of photography forward in many ways. Making powerful cameras more compact and user friendly.

Personally I believe that Instagram should be used with care, too much of anything can be a bad thing and the same can be said about Instagram. I think users should be more aware of what they are sharing and how much time they are spending on the app. With that being said I do believe that Instagram has made a positive impact on the world as a whole and should be looked at in a positive light.