I have talked about the obsession with Instagram, and realized that this is a habit I could barely break through. Countless of time I tried to uninstall and reinstall the app on my phone, to stop myself from reaching it, but still, the temptation is strong and I must admit, maybe I’m not that mature to parent myself yet. It was a shame on me, but then I also question myself, if it was so damn addictive, what made it become so, and how can I turn this into a learning opportunity rather than some sort of wasted resources (not just phone battery, but my brain power, time, attention span, and time x 10). Because in fact, after all, Instagram is such a great communication tool. It was invented and modified to share the moments, to connect creators to audiences, to celebrate creative things and to satisfy our curiosity. But then, the fundamental characteristic of Instagram is INSTANCE, or Instantaneousness. Therefore, things occur on this platform, are mainly short-term hype, trendy things that barely have a deep connection to our core value, unless tap into the human needs to be entertained, excited, or to be granted attention and admiration for. But still, I really think that I enjoy spending time on Instagram, and so I try to figure out what is the main fulfillment, most meaningful things I can do on Instagram. Not just for fun, but I want it to be meaningful.
So at least, after many fail attempts, I finally decided that I’m going to jump on the great things about this platform, but surrounding myself with higher content quality. There they say don’t live in a bubble, but I would say, I rather choose a better bubble to be in. Bubble that make space for personal growth, provide resources and connections and fulfillments. Bubble that raise standard of living, and motivate me to do better things in life.
The above is a post by Harvard Business Review on Instagram. I have shared this onto my story, and I think I will continue to share these kind of materials although it’s kinda long. I champion those who put thoughts and patience into reading long post (this is not long at all), but I think that everybody will be burned out eventually chasing the short-term hype and people will pay more attention reading good-written posts even if it’s on Instagram. But the reason why I brought up this piece, is because what was written in it.
It raises a few questions I would love to discuss with my friends and those who care most:
- When I’m at my best, what belief and values drive my action?
- Which people have quality who align with mine, and what are those qualities?
- What are my favorite quotes or words?
What more important is the action following the answers to the above questions. Answer them yourself, then circle the words that stand out for you. From this, shape a sentence that describe yourself exactly the way you are and most importantly, “how you want to live your life”.
It’s yet time for another post where I can discuss about this question deeply. Regardless, I was glad that a follow-up action has been made thanks to me scrolling through Instagram. Now, my hope, and desire, is to cut down all the mindless scrolling. There are tasks needed to be acted mindlessly (what I mean is when you are in the mood of autopilot), and I don’t think scrolling or surfing the social media is a great deal of autopilot. Unless surrounding ourselves with great value (on Instagram, valuable posts are posts that ENRICH your senses, knowledge, and experiences deeply), you will be always grabbed into nice, glamorous but quite shallow content that strikes your brain for 3 seconds and leave you forever.
Qbooz 