Instagram and the Social Media Family: Could it Ruin Your Moment?

By Karolyn Castaldo on September 22, 2012

As one of the many who is literally obsessed with Instagram, I’ve begun to wonder lately what it, and most social media sites, could be doing to our interaction skills. I tend to scroll through my feed on this popular app regularly, noting how delicious people’s meals look, how wonderful their vacations seem and just how nice their time spent with their friends really appeared. Yet, how could capturing a picture on your smartphone, applying an “artsy” filter, taking the time to come up with a witty caption that is both Facebook and Twitter appropriate, and then sending it off into the world be taking away from the time that you are spending with the people who are there?

Photo from Flickr.com by Vox Efx

Let’s say that you just got into a new relationship and you and your date decide to go to a nicer restaurant, you know, where they care about presentation of the food. Your dessert comes and it looks absolutely incredible. Rather than diving in, you whip out your phone and take a picture, spending the next minute or two engaging with the increasingly popular date-ruiner, Instagram, rather than the person you came to be with. This has serious potential to make your date feel like you only care about interacting with the people in the outside world, rather than being there, enjoying the meal with him or her. Unless the person you are with is a total Instagram-addict as well, you could chance furthering that relationship.

This goes for all other forms of social media and forms of communication via cellphone as well. I understand that as college students, we’re very busy and always looking for ways to stay on top of our game, but we have taken it to a new level where we feel the need to be in the know constantly. I have walked into way too many rooms of “social” gatherings where the TV is on and every one has a phone open with a text message, email, Facebook, Twitter, or the like on the screen; nobody speaks!

Rather than focusing on your phone when you’re with your friends, plan a party where everyone has to leave their phones on a table in the same spot. Provide a clock so that no one loses track of time, and ask that everyone turns their phone on loud so that if they need to be reached in case of an emergency, they can be. This way, no one is tempted to check the less important apps like Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter, that are more for entertainment than anything, while you are spending time together.

Don’t let Instagram or another member of the social media family ruin your moment. When it comes down to it, we’re losing our basic social skills to these addictive apps and there’s nothing less attractive than someone who’s so stuck in their own head because they spend so much time on their phone. Be someone who people will want to interact with, while staying current on your own time.

 

 

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