How Instagram Helps Me Appreciate Beauty IRL (In Real Life)
… and meet people In IRL
Over the past 2-and-a-half months, I’ve been working with #paid one of the leaders in Instagram Influencer Marketing. Before this, I’ve never thought as deeply and profoundly about how we communicate ourselves and our surroundings to the people who are interested in our lives. I’ve been a student of culture both formally and informally for the past decade. Whether this was writing about the genesis of viral videos for Anthropology courses or spotting and participating in emerging music scenes and subcultures — I’ve loved to watch culture unfold.
Last weekend we partnered with Global Meet to host 150 eager Instagrammers at our office before heading over to the Thompson Hotel where they were all able to capture different views of the 6 (obligatory Torontonian Drake Reference FTW). Some had less than 100 followers some had over 100 thousand. They were all coming together based on their passion for capturing the beauty of the world around them. It was one of the most diverse groups of people I’ve ever seen come together for an event. A cross section of people from every walk of life, cultural background, age group and gender. They came together to pursue their creative interests and passions and they each found different ways to showcase Toronto in their light.
What is happening on Instagram today is wonderful. Like anything, there will be people who have negative experiences, and there are always downsides to any innovation or new cultural phenomenon. Regardless Instagram is changing the way we see and interact with the world around us, and it is making my world more beautiful
There have been some articles that suggest we don’t appreciate the moments in our lives as much because we are too focused on capturing them to post in Instagram. Throughout my day in Toronto, I see things I never used to see, and it has a lot to do with Instagram. While it seems silly and trivial for people to stop and take a photo of that sunset cascading down Queen Street in Toronto with the streetcar passing by, this isn’t making us appreciate the moment less, in fact, it is helping us find beauty in the mundane.
Walking through the streets of Toronto has become one of my favourite pass times, even when I don’t stop to take the photo. I find myself seeing beauty in the ordinary. The value of appreciating beautiful moments that happen unexpectedly on the way I feel every day is tremendous.
Occasionally I can imagine in my head how some of my favourite photographers would be able to capture the moment. Moreover when I see the city through the lens of artists like Jayscale and Alan Palander, I’m amazed at the way their vision captures my day to day environment.
Taking photos of ourselves and our environment isn’t new. Whether it was a trip, a school photo or one of those god awful portraits at (insert out of business department store name here) capturing the moment and sharing it with others is nothing new.
What is new however is that if you are great at capturing moments, if people love your point of view, then you no longer need gatekeepers like curators and magazine editors to express your viewpoint to the world.
Today, with IG, Insta, The Gram (whatever the kids want to call it) we can share or vision, our view, and our style of the world. If others appreciate it, they want to can follow our journey, evolution and growth as cultural creators. The best part is, any of them can become inspired to do the same without any boundaries other than picking up a camera.
