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Instagram Lives at My House


It’s in my car, at the grocery store, in the bathroom and in bed with my kids.  I’ve never seen anything like it, not Facebook or regular texting or even that Snapchat thing.  It’s alive.

I asked my 12 year-old what the big deal is with this (not so) new “app.” She said, “I don’t know, I guess it's because everyone is on it so you always know what everyone is up to.”  That’s how she summed it up.  I think that really is Instagram’s “reason for being.”  But it’s beginning to seem like it’s my kids’ reason for being -- too. 

Then there are the coded comments under each photo, be it painted toenails, a bikini-clad teen, or a new pair of Jordans: “stunna”, perf babe, ily, ilysm, omg flawless!  I’m starting to wonder about the sincerity of the next generation.  If every photo of a tween or teen is followed by 10 or 15 “omg flawlesses” how can each one really mean anything?  Is the recipient of the countless gratuitous compliments getting a swelled head?  Or does she (or he) realize that it’s simply protocol at this point to say sweet nothings over the Instagram airwaves? 

And as a cautiously anxious parent, what happens when the “ilys” become something ugly or mean or less than kind?  We parents really, really, really have to police this app and the comments and photos that are posted.  We all say it, but it’s a necessity.  I have one friend who “follows” her kid and his “friends” to see what is really going on.  It is a sub-culture that it not so sub anymore. 

How long will this last, and what’s the next invasive, omnipresent app? Just monitor your kids’ phones, you’ll find out soon enough.

Comments

Unknown said…
Exactly Julie! They let those superlatives fly with no thought whatsoever. "Happy bday to my BFF" - really?? Since when? Won't that offend others who thought they really were your BFF? "That's what everyone says mom!" Right now I monitor it bc neither of my kids has an iPhone and if they want to go on their account they need to use mine. Its the first thing they do when I get home from work. No "hello" - just "can I borrow your phone."
April 1, 2013 at 2:06 PM
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