In Defense of Instagram

Of Highlight Reels, Aesthetics & Sharing Our Lives

Anyone who’s used Instagram, or any form of social media for that matter, has been well-informed of the downsides of it. We live in a fallen world, and in a fallen world there is nothing that has escaped the corruption of sin. However, that does not mean that everything is a lost cause; every tool can be used for good or for evil, and our goal should be to try to use everything for its intended purpose.

Instagram is a photo and video sharing app. That’s it. With modern technology we have been blessed with the ability to take photos of our lives and experiences and share them with our friends, family, and maybe even strangers (depending on the reach your instagram has) and stay up to date on the lives and experiences of those we know as well. This experience is also completely customizable, with the choice of having a private or public account, curating who you follow, the ability to favorite or mute accounts, interested/not interested, the list goes on. 

And not only is the app limited to seeing other people’s lives- Instagram is an amazing tool for learning. A lot of people are surprised to hear that I was able to learn photography from it. When I began doing photography seriously, I curated my reels feed to be almost entirely photography related, so anytime I scrolled I was learning about gear, editing, posing ideas, and followed as many photographers as I could. I messaged photographers about their lenses and cameras, bought presets from creators, watched edit-with-me’s, and had access to endless photos for inspiration.

And I had access to what I didn’t in real life- advice from hundreds of experienced professionals. In seconds I had loads of wisdom and years of experience being given for free from way more people than I could ever have met in real life. It’s an app filled with creatives, musicians, artists, chefs, comedians, athletes, filmmakers, educators– all sharing their work in their own unique ways. 

And yet, social media is frowned upon, even demonized, in today’s culture. It’s become an app characterized in the eyes of others by idleness, superficiality, jealousy & lies. 

And what’s crazy to me is that people talk about their own sins & struggles that they experience while using the app and assume that it’s the app’s fault. People take a break from instagram because it “causes them to compare too much” or it makes them jealous or lazy. And don’t get me wrong, I think if something causes you to sin, it’s the biblical thing to do to cut it off-

“If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.” -Matthew 5:29

But do not think that it’s instagram that’s making you jealous or idle. This verse is important because it’s clear that your eyes or any of your body parts are not bad things (in fact, they’re blessings and tools from God) but the issue is that they are being used as a vessel to sin. 

It might be a hard thing to come to terms with, but you are a jealous person if being exposed to a lot of people having good things happen to them makes you unhappy. And that’s a personal problem that needs to be worked on. It’s important to find purpose, fulfillment, and thankfulness in your own life so that other people’s success will inspire you and bring you joy instead of jealousy and anger. If it ruins your day to see another one of your friends get engaged, maybe you should check your heart to see if you’re a good friend.

It’s common for many people approach life with such an entitlement, to go about life thinking that we are owed a certain quantity and quality of vacations, marriage at a certain age, a certain number of friends, career success, every item on our wishlist– and when others get the things in life that is assumed to be due to us, the idea surfaces that we have been cheated. But the truth is we are not owed anything, and neither do we deserve it. And there is joy in knowing we are not owed anything, and that all we have and all the things we get to do are gracious gifts from a loving God. 

Our friends are not owed vacations, friends, adventures or success; they are God’s gifts to them – and how beautiful is it that because of instagram we get to have a front row seat to God’s provision in the lives of all His people. And how beautiful that our friends get to have a front row seat to our joys as well.

Many say that social media is a lie because you only see the best parts of people’s lives and not the bad things– but I think every adult with a phone should be mature enough to recognize this obvious fact, and I think that instead of viewing sharing the best parts of our lives as lying or deception, we should view it as a ritual of thankfulness. One thing I really appreciate is that in this era of instagram monthly or quarterly photo dumps are really common, and sometimes when I’ve had what I thought was a really crappy month and I go to make a post, I go through my photos and realize I’ve had a shocking lack of thankfulness.

I usually realize that even in the worst of times God gives me so many joys; colorful skies after long days, amazing books I’d read, small adventures or day trips I’d forgotten, good food, galleries I’ve worked on, weeks spent editing and working at my dream job, priceless yet quickly forgotten memories with my siblings, and all the beautiful moments unremembered and ignored, all because I let the bad things that happened color the weeks sour in my mind. 

And none of these moments are AI generated pictures or the work of photoshop- they’re real and they happened, and they’re God’s gifts in my life. I want to remember the good times. I want to remember and share the moments that I liked the best, and frankly I think it would be oversharing (and if I was being completely transparent online about my life, slanderous, whiny or ungrateful) to post about all the bad stuff. 

And offline or online there’s too much that happens even in a day to be able to give anyone enough information to have a fully accurate portrayal of our lives. The good and the bad, the boring and the exciting. So much happens in the many minutes we are given of life- there’s enough sadness to dwell on forever, and enough good memories to last a lifetime. 

I do not think it is shallow or deceptive to share the highlights on Instagram. It is an art gallery of thankfulness, a public display of the good I’ve been given, and a place where I rejoice in the happiness of others, as well as learn from others and grow in skills. Of course anyone can use any app for bad, but it doesn’t take away from how much good can be on it as well.

Thanks so much for reading my instagram rant and feel free to share any thoughts or opinions you have in the comments!