Instagram has turned us against ourselves

When I click this link I am "turned against myself" by what seems like an automatic history.back(). Is this a metaphor? (edit: A half hour later and it is still doing this for me despite other people seemingly commenting on the content of an article. I am using iOS 10.)

Set your profile to private and stop giving a shit about engagement. If you're selling something, great, make a themed profile and increase your follower count with as many #hashtags as you can cram into that comment section. If you're using it socially, post about your life and chill out on measures of popularity.

I do strongly agree with the idea that we need a better way to reach out to our friends. Posting a photo and getting likes isn't staying in touch. It's fine for acquaintances, but you should talk to the people you care about, not just check up on their recent posts.

I don't care about how many likes or how many followers I get. I use Instagram to share my photography which is my hobby. I only follow my friends and people whose posts I genuinely want to see. Through Instagram I've been able to connect with other likeminded photographers that inspire me with their work and support me in mine. I also find it a great way to keep up with old friends that never used Facebook in the same way.

If your happiness is dependent on the attention you receive on these social media apps, there are likely deeper problems that you should address beyond simply deleting the app and telling everyone else who uses it to do the same.

There's a certain irony to all of these posts that have been cropping up lately on how "I deleted (insert social media service here) and it made me happier". Many of these posts cite the cessation of the race for validation as the reason for their increase in happiness. If you weren't expecting the same validation that you got from the service you just left, would you have really made the post? Couldn't you have simply just quit and be done with it? Deleting Instagram may temporarily improve your mental health, but it isn't a cure for a deeper underlying problem.

I recently deleted facebook and instagram in an effort to take back my privacy. I really miss the stories feature on instagram. Stories don't have a concept of engagement besides views. People actually post what they're doing throughout the day in small, bite size pieces. I think it's a fantastic way to keep up with people.

Yeah you're right, definitely not a great person, but I used the reference because he turned out to be right about the negative effects of "over-socialization"