Being like everybody is the same as being nobody. - Rod Serling

You can tell, Rod.

Yet, I've got the sensation that in today's society that's what everybody's striving for.

Take Instagram as an example: you quickly recognize that being like all the others seems to be the ultimate trend here.

It's not only the style, the coloring and the setting of the photographs that's copied by all influencers, it's even the destinations they travel to, their whole way of living.

It's kind of creepy, isn't it?

To get a better understanding of how that whole market works, I opened a test account two weeks ago.

Here's how it felt being (like) an Instagramer.

Holy crap.

That's actually my short but precise résumé after my little vacation at the Instagram family's.

I had been using the application before but only in private mode.

Now I wanted to test how public content creation and distribution works here and how it feels to be part of the open Insta-Community.

These are my biggest takeaways after two weeks on Instagram:

1. Nobody cares about content.
2. Nobody seriously engages.
3. Nobody votes or follows you because they like your content.
4. Everything is just focussed on increasing the followers count, so if you don't follow someone back they'll immediately unfollow you then.
5. Even people that comment on your post and tell you how amazing your work is, would unfollow you if you don't follow back.
6. Everybody uses additional applications to track their follows and unfollows.
7. Businesses invite you to cooperate, but if you text them, they never reply.
8. All influencer accounts look the same, the more you fit in the merrier.

Now trying to be a cog in this crazy wheel felt incredibly repulsive, since all I did here is actually against my personal values.

I don't like to be like everybody else, and I would also never follow someone's account just because I may get a follow in return.

How could people actually support that type of movement?

To be honest, I'm shocked.

I seriously hope that this is not a mirror of our future generations.

If this is how people are supposed to interact with each other in the future, then we're in serious trouble.

The participants in this game have completely lost their creativity and their uniqueness as human beings. There is zero social engagement and no touch with reality at all.

In addition many of them completely sacrifice their lives to social media. Everything they do is set in scene.

There is no privacy and no limits.

To me it all looks like a damn creepy soap bubble.

So I tried to deactivate my account but it didn't work.

That's another great benefit of Instagram: You gotta be damn smart to find the exit.

I'm done, guys. And I seriously hope that this is just an app, and that people havent's seriously lost their minds.

Be unique, steemians! It's what human beings are all about.

Amen 🙂

Much love,
Marley -

PS: Are you new to Steem? Then you may be interested in reading this guide: Publish, Engage, Earn - Beginner's Guide to Steemit Author: @connecteconomy.
.
.
.

This blog was created in July 2016, aiming to provide thought-provoking content for open-minded people who go on adventure, step out of comfort zones and embrace the new.
Thanks for being part of the journey!

PS: All my blog posts are created and submitted via eSteem Surfer - my favorite Steem desktop client that was developed by @good-karma's @esteemapp team. Check out their account for more information.

Original content.