Instagram Ethics

I am relatively new to Instagram, having posted daily images for only about the past three months. At first, I naively assumed that people would like what they actually liked, and follow accounts they actually found interesting. Some do, and I count myself among them. It quickly became apparent that many, perhaps even the majority, do not. There is the daily “Click to Gain A Gazillion Followers” type spam (all of which get blocked and reported immediately). There are businesses that follow just to gain views, soon to unfollow. There are individuals who follow solely in the hope of gaining a follow back, often with feeds consisting entirely of selfies, who also unfollow as soon as they realize there will be no reciprocation. And there are, most unfortunately, some seemingly interesting feeds that follow and then unfollow as soon as they gain a follow back. That one really ruffles my feathers, and they get unfollowed immediately just on principle. Instagram ethics are a mess, but that goes for the whole darned Internet.

Sadly, in an absurd and damning reflection of what much of our society has become, follower and like quantity have risen to rule over content and quality. Maybe I’m just old-fashioned, but to me just one person who sincerely likes what I do is of far greater value that a thousand followers who don’t give a damn. Clicks are cheap. Sincerity is priceless.

And here, Instagram ethics and the emptiness of the Internet have led to a relatively hollow post, so I will keep it short and get to work on new content that will hopefully have some real value.

For now …