4 minute read
Society
Instagram People
Killing two birds with one stone, the Instagram generation has fun with social media along with making a difference, working and earning
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By Saachi Pai Kane
Launched in 2010, Instagram has been working its magic for more than a decade now, and it is safe to say that everyone is hooked. From square pictures and five basic filters to boomerangs, reels, stories, and filters about literally everything, Instagram has been thriving and taking over everyone’s lives.
People who started off as the ‘Facebook Generation’ have now turned to Instagram for socialising, staying updated, and entertaining themselves. Instagram, with its easy accessibility, minimalistic yet abundant features, and growth, has gripped the attention of many. With their latest ‘Reels’ update, people get lost within the app for hours on end, watching different quirky, funny videos, some quite eye-opening that even teach you new things.
Besides being all fun and games, the rapidly increasing 1 billion active users on Instagram makes it a huge platform for marketing. People can pay and promote posts to a large number of target audiences. Organic posting and market research has grown immensely, creating a new avenue for employment, Instagram Marketing. This fast-paced profession is all about staying up to date on Instagram updates and using those to one’s advantage. The app also provides very easy data on the engagement rate, updates on people’s followers, and data that can be used to improve one’s business and reach. During and post the lockdowns, there has been an increasing growth in the number of Instagram accounts created. Users create multiple accounts, some of them being professional portfolios.
Instagram’s features and the additionally available features online like Canva and Unfold help create aesthetic and relevant content for everyone. Artists, architects, doctors, people from any and all professions have created Instagram portfolios that are easily accessible, easily updated and are better modes of showing off one’s work and spreading
Raineera Baretto
awareness. The number of avenues Instagram features have given people is impeccable. Millennials spend a minimum of 2 hours a day browsing through Instagram. When asked about Instagram addiction, cinematographer Yash Kamat says, “You’re consuming the things you like, that’s how it curates posts, and scrolling down a screen barely takes up any work.”
Instagram’s algorithm is very particular when it comes to recommending and exploring posts. Yash uses Instagram mainly for work-related things, “I get a lot of work through Instagram, people see my work and recommend me
Saili Palyekar somewhere else,” people gain access to other people’s work. It could be for inspiration, hiring someone or to distract oneself. “You’re in the comfort of your own home, and it doesn’t demand much besides good internet connection,” says Med Student Raineera Baretto. She uses her Instagram account to spread awareness about various things, “The current COVID situation, vaccinations, menstrual health, gender identity, sexuality, etc. It’s a bigger platform for discourses about taboo subjects, and we learn a lot about ourselves and other things.”
Ryan Menezes, Founder of the food joint Inferno Wings, uses his Instagram to keep track of the engagement from similar big brands like Hooters and Buffalo Wild Wings to understand their social media game and apply a few things to his business. “Instagram helps me craft my brand identity because I feel, regularly engaging with customers gives them a sense of trust in your business.” Ryans Instagram account helped boost sales quite a bit. His posts would get reposted by friends and mutuals, spreading the word like a chain reaction, helping increase sales. Besides this, he also finds Instagram to be a platform for self-expression, to deriving fashion sense or creative abilities, and it helps him maintain close contact with friends, especially during the pandemic.
Besides being a source of entertainment, many Instagram users use the platform to spread their ideas, be creative and post pictures that are personal for self-satisfaction. “Very often I feel like I don’t see posts from people I actually know, but more of other people and pages I follow for inspiration, whether it’s design related or fashion related.”, says Art Director Saili Palyekar. Like her, social media is a big part of a lot of people’s jobs. “I post a lot but Instagram is basically part of my job. I handle hygiene for certain brands and I need to constantly be up to date with what’s happening, trends and viral content. I need it for that, but I also use it for myself, for inspiration, work and fashion.” says Saili. But besides it only being about work, she also enjoys posting stories about her day, “I don’t post for people, I post for myself. Because I like to go back and see what I did and felt on a particular day”.
Figuratively or not, Millenials and Gen Z’s were born with technology handed to them. Instagram is addictive and a constant mode of distraction but it is also so many beautiful things. It inspires, ideates, creates opportunities, awareness, selflove, and so much more. Labeling it as one thing doesn’t seem fair because just like people are different, Instagram is subjective
Yash Kamat
