Given the serious obsession the general public has with social media, Instagram can become the primary method of wasting time that we do not necessarily have. Whether it be searching useless and endless threads of #goldenretrievers or #puppiesofinstagram. It became apparent that a full detox from social media was well overdue for myself. To replace a guilty addiction with optimistic addiction, to make a conscious decision to read more.
“I Don’t Have Time to Read!”
Currently, unless you have a copious amount of spare time, we can simply only read when we are held captive by an everyday scenario. Whether it be from boredom, sitting on the bus or public transport, or even sitting in bed. Instagram can imprison the brain, enslaving precious thoughts of adventure and escapism. It seems only second-nature for our idle hands to wander and just to peer and disappear into the never-ending spiral of the forever-growing internet. Maybe we’d reach for our mobiles to check the time. To check a text or WhatsApp too. And somehow manage to find our way into the depths of useless and irrelevant information at the edge of our fingertips.
“One More Meme on Instagram, Please Mom!”
Regardless of that, we feel that a detox from the inane and insane internet may be crucial. The ramifications would deem us fidgety, anxious and yet cause us to suffer from a serious case of FOMO. Even though subconsciously, we know that the world still hasn’t stopped. And we truly are not missing out on anything.
Quitting cold-turkey may not be an option. Scrolling through memes of SpongeBob Squarepants and impractical information with lame unrelatable quotes from novels you’ll never read, would simply not be viable. As this is now the culture we have adapted into. Quite happily I might add. Instead of endless posts featuring puppies with pink-bellies looking guilty over doing something they shouldn’t, filling, feeding the public with nothing more but a deeper obsession.
Here lies a personal attempt in trading my own hashtags to #bookstagram and #booksofinstagram. As if switching cigarettes for vaping. Switching one addiction for a healthier and more-so beneficial alternative. To swap absurd videos, with research into new books to indulge in. Most importantly, to inspire to start newer journeys into the land of fiction. To feed into more enriching ideas and vocabulary.
The Library is Fully-Stocked
Every day a new method of an object that we use slowly becomes irrelevant and old-fashioned. Libraries are slowly becoming extinct. That once nostalgic fresh smell of decomposing books, the feeling of walking down an isle filled with adventure is now no more. Social media is not just where we get into contact with a long-term acquaintance which we once played out in the streets with when we were 8-years-old. The surface may be where people want to share with peers their fresh, new outfits for the weekend, or brag about the meal they just conjured with leftovers from last night’s pot roast.
Underneath that surface, is an underlining fruition of regular human beings just like you and I. Sharing the most incredible journey that they have embarked upon. No, not referring to your immediate neighbor boarding for a cheeky getaway to the Coast of Belize. But, referring to hashtags such as, #bookstagram with a following of a whopping 31.6 million. This adventure which the general public have shared is through simply – the recommendation of a good book. To the point they wanted and felt compelled to share with the whole world. Thus, creating a hub, a hot-spot that is every possible book everybody who enjoys reading, shares.
What’s Next for Instagram?
I will be in search for trends and themes of books which are regularly occurring on the visual mood-board that is Instagram. To review, analyse and most probably be taken through a whirlwind of emotions regarding the most-talked about books that are being released imminently all around the world. The world wide web has now become a modded and upgraded version of a library. But, with iridescent colours and a disgusting amount of distractions. Minus the nostalgia of a bitter librarian telling you to be quiet at practically every opportunity.
Welcome, ‘The Hashtag Library’ is now open here and on Instagram. Leave your mundanity at the search-bar.
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