There's a new social media on the block and I don't like it.
Well, I shouldn't say new, since it's been around for long enough that Facebook has bought it. But it's new to me and so, so foreign.
I like to stay on top of social media, because that's kind of important to my job and I also like finding new ways of communicating with people. I'm a big Twitter fan, though I don't tweet as often as many people I know. I'm also on Facebook all the time. I consider these two to be the standard, most-used social media and I'm confident in saying that I'm proficient in both.
I'm also all over Pinterest, which is kind of a social media. However, instead of direct communication, I am able to communicate my love for baking and Grumpy Cat to my followers through the pins I post.
But Instagram is not my friend. Instagram is a social media entirely focused on posting photos to share with followers. Followers can like and comment on photos. Some photos trend (though I'm not sure how or why). And popularity is measured based on followers and likes. I think. It seems pretty standard.
Despite all this, I can't get into posting pictures of myself and the food I eat, or myself trying on my clothes, or my friends doing cool things. It could be argued that I don't make super cool food all the time, or that I'm not super fashionable or that my friends generally don't do cool things, however, I don't think that any of those scenarios are accurate. I'm frequently doing cool things, wearing reasonably stylish clothing and I bake freakin' masterpieces.
I just can't make myself take pictures of them.
Which is even more strange, considering I like to post the occasional photo to Twitter. And Pinterest is all about posting photos. Plus, I have a series of photos of myself and people I know on Facebook. I also spend several days a week playing with a camera, so it's not like I'm camera shy or anything like that.
I've decided that it's the filters on Instagram that freak me out. The Facebook and Twitter photos I post are usually unedited and show the world exactly as it is. The way I look in a Twitter photo is pretty close to how I look in my daily life (sweatpants, hoodie). But Instagram people seem to be so glam. The filters can make even my ancient University of Regina Cougars hoodie look trendy. It's frightening. Thanks to filters, I don't know what anyone truly looks like. I doubt anyone is slightly out of focus, or black and white. I also live by the rule that the more filters you're using on Instagram, the less attractive you actually are. It's sort of like makeup that you can apply to a photo. And I don't really like makeup, so naturally filters make me feel weird.
I hope to someday overcome my fear of Instagram. As of right now, I have an account with 10 followers and two photos. It's not looking very promising. I guess I'm just going to have to bear down and post selfies - self-taken photos of myself. Bathroom mirror shots are also a winner. And food. Need pictures of food.
Tonaya Marr is excited to spend three days next week at home with her family. She's also probably going to get reacquainted with the Estevan night life. Fingers crossed she doesn't sing at karaoke. You can contact Tonaya at [email protected] or send her a tweet @TonayaMarr. Heck, you can even follow her on Instagram, @tonayam
