Sometimes when I scroll through the ol’ Insta feed I can’t help but wonder if the posts, stories, comments, and so forth are actually real. I mean, I think on a certain level we’ve come to understand or realize that a lot of what people put out there are the best sides of themselves, or a highly manicured feed or a sponsored product ad or or… But sometimes I will read a post and I can tell the person who wrote it is really trying to tell or share something, trying in their own way to connect and be heard. I can’t help but wonder if they feel heard…
You’ll see comments saying “just what I needed to hear” or “thanks for posting this”, and I have no doubt that maybe for that moment that person really did appreciate what the person was sharing. But then *swipe*, and all memory of that post is no doubt gone. I wonder if these people put down their phones and think about what they read, what they were so moved by. I wonder if it has impacted or changed anything in their lives or their perceptions of their understanding of something. Or do we just consume without thought? Consume at such a trivial level that we become so accustomed to seeing “moving” posts, responding, and moving on without much emotion or thought attached whatsoever.
Lately, I am striving to live more mindfully, being more intentional with my thoughts, time, and focus, and Instagram is certainly one of the places I tend to get lost in mindless scrolling. How can I better use this place so that it is fulfilling, beneficial, connecting? Or will it eventually be deleted as Facebook has been? Will I be able to recognize, know, or understand when I am being sucked in by the mindless competition for likes, follows, or attention? How do you know?