Instagram has grown explosively and exponentially since its inception in mid-2010.

 

A social media platform just shy of its fifth birthday, Instagram has grown explosively and exponentially since its inception in mid-2010. Though Instagram’s accelerated growth can be attributed to the fact that social media giant Facebook purchased the booming network for $1 billion in 2012, the inspired team of artists and designers behind this unique phone application has truly revolutionized the social media market.

Whereas Facebook allows for various types of media, different variations of posting (i.e. statuses, wall posts, comment replies, and website links), and even goes so far as to allow the “liking” of comments, Instagram filters out the extraneous and leaves its community with effortless browsing of simple content in a beautiful format: one photo, one caption, and the option to comment, like, or tag.

Piano KeysBy streamlining how its users both post and interact with their content within the app, Instagram’s model of overall simplification is a successful one. Removing the superfluous and focusing on a basic photo-and-caption layout, Instagram has greatly increased its reach since 2013, with over 300 million people registered and using the app daily. Though other social media networks such as Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter and LinkedIn continue to adapt and expand, people from all over the world have flocked to Instagram to share their stories. From professional photographers cropping their high-end SLR shots into tiny little boxes, to mothers snapping cell phone pictures of their children at soccer games and posting them directly into the app, the beauty of Instagram is not only its effortless design and use, but the wide variety of demographics and cultures that can be found using it. Ultimately, there is no right or wrong way to use Instagram, but instead a big wide creative world at our fingertips just begging to be explored.

The twenty-first century is an exciting time to be alive as technology is in a constant state of change, yet still enriching our lives daily. Instagram — most certainly a product of this ever-changing technological world — blends the power of our portable technology with the ease of posting and enjoying digital content from around the globe. By altering the way we view the world around us, and most importantly how we interact with people on a daily basis, Instagram has become a social network unlike any other; although photo sharing may be the primary driving force behind the app, Instagram’s emphasis on people and the moments that matter most is what sets them apart.