Instagram Update

I've had a great time on the app. Reels are so relatable, fun and engaging. Sharing memes is a whole new way of communication. User interface is top notch and the time - Don't get me started - it flies.

For me everything was manageable. I won't complain about the wastage of time and loss of productivity. I believe, there should be a separate space for entertainment in everyone's busy lives. And if that entertainment come from Instagram, then why not have it.

Why I quit Instagram, had none of the usual nerdy reasons behind. I deleted my account because I couldn't continue consuming what the algorithm was feeding me.

The Algorithm

For me Instagram was lavish and quite naked. From Lamborghinis to Rolls Royces and from bikinis to six packs, my Instagram somehow managed to recommend such luxuries.

Why did this trouble me? And why should it bother someone out there?

Well I have a clear cut answer to this. It's all unrealistic and mostly fake. And moreover it gives a pretty absurd perspective to life.

The average income of people around the world is about $23,380 per year, when adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity. A Rolls Royce Phantom price starts at $792,550 and it would take an average man 34 years to save and buy, considering he only saves with no expenditure. Yet every night we are made to salivate over something far from reality.

Mansions with collection of cars, penthouses that cost millions of dollars, men surrounded by girls, champaign and caviar. It is a dream for many and shall remain a dream for a whole lot.

Influencers making money of their bodies and calling it content. Might be a good method of gaining followers and getting heftily monetised. But in reality they are selling fantasies. Screens out and the world is not the same.

So I Deleted the Account

What compelled me to get out of this niche full of Desires was that - at some point no matter how strong you think you are - it gets you.

I started to feel less and deprived in life, although I had enough. There is so much income inequality in this world that most of the times we fail to appreciate what we have. And this feeling is fuelled by the riches and the fantasies you get to see all day and night.

Deleting Instagram has been very good so far, even though I miss it but I don't intend to go back. Dreaming is not a sin. Who won't want money and a hell lot of money. But always remember, dreams come true only after lives get hard.  So Just don't imagine buying a Lamborghini, logout, work hard and buy it.

Samiullah Bhat is a doctor by profession