Instagram is an image sharing mobile app (and now website) that allows you to upload and share images to a profile you create. The app was created in 2010 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, and has since gained a lot of popularity and attention, to the point where it now has around 500 million monthly users (as of June 2016). It is now owned by Facebook after being sold for roughly £1 Billion US dollars.

How the app works:

When you open up the Instagram app you see all of the posts that people that you follow have uploaded, in order of how recently they were posted. Everyone’s posts are mixed so you see everything in the same place, you don’t have to click of peoples profiles to see the picture.

From this page you can also interact with people by pressing the heart icon to “Like” a picture, as well as press the speech bubble to write a comment on someone’s picture. The arrow icon is to re-post someone’s image. These features make the app more enjoyable because you can connect with people and show enthusiasm for their posts.

 

The centre icon (the camera) is where you upload photos and videos from. It is split into the three sections at the bottom, and this allows you to either choose an existing picture you have on your phones library, take a new photo using the camera on your phone (the camera was pointed at a keyboard at the time this screenshot was taken), or shoot a video using the phones camera. This is incredibly simple to understand and it means that almost anyone can easily use the app without any training or guidance.

 

There is also a search feature on the app, which is accessed by clicking on the icons at the bottom, second from the left. You simply type in a person or username and any relevant suggestions will appear in the space below. You can also search for tags and places if you are looking for certain things.

 

Advantages and Disadvantages:

There are many advantages of using Instagram, but the main one is that it is just fun to use. It can be used to look at people’s pictures and videos, or to look at funny memes or info-graphics. You can see what people are up to every so often, and if you have a photo that you really like it is a platform with which you can share it with the world. Instagram can also be a source of income if you get enough followers, because if you have a big enough audience, companies and advertisers can approach you any pay you to promote or post about their products, for their marketing.

There are however some disadvantages to Instagram. People can become addicted or obsessed with using it. They can crave the attention and the “likes”, which can cause them to only be satisfied with themselves when they have a new post up which is getting lots of likes. People also generally spend a lot of time on apps such as these, which can cause productivity to go down. This means they will get less work or studying done, which has its own negatives, and it also means they might lose social skills because they don’t spend time physically interacting with people because they are always on their phone.

Conclusion:

Instagram is an app for sharing images and videos, which is good for connecting people and sharing experiences and events. However it has its downsides and can become addictive for some who crave attention.