55. Instagram alive and well thanks to emerging musician

Instagram Alive is not to be confused with Instagram Live, where users can livestream from their account to their followers and the public if they choose. Instagram Alive is a term (that I think I just coined) used to refer to our posting habits during the app’s infancy between 2010 and 2014.

In light of his new single “Old Phone”, Ed Sheeran has been posting pictures to Instagram that he literally found on his old phone, most of them candid, cheesy and carefree. Pictures with Taylor Swift and some members of One Direction have already dominated my social media algorithm, while an unexpected video of Shane Warne playing blackjack with Ed warmed my heart.

It has users, myself included, reminiscing about Instagram’s early years. Those times brought nothing but a slew of photo sharing, filter choosing and hashtag using to portray our emotions. Before they were all-important, these elements were decided on in mere minutes and multiple times a day. 

Posting the funny-shaped potato chip you found in the Smith's bag? Go for it! Using #funnychip as the caption and nothing else? No-brainer! Comments of disbelief from your friend about the mangled crisp? Guaranteed! Chip sharing is far too rare nowadays! Okay, perhaps I need to crush the chip joke, but the inference is there: posts were not curated, we posted in real time #InstagramAlive.

Back in 2012, Instagram was still foreign to many of us. While babysitting my brothers and I, my cousin asked if I had an account as she showed me Justin Bieber’s feed. Although I wasn’t familiar with the app, I immediately knew I needed it. Within minutes, I had joined, followed the members of One Direction and commented to Zac Efron how I couldn’t believe I was writing a message that he would see (yes, a public comment on his post… give me a break, I was eleven). 

We didn’t know that in ten years, we would be using the Rio De Janeiro filter ironically and that these posts were forming our digital footprint. Then, when we found out “the internet is forever”, it haunted me before hitting post (but did not stop me). Now, as a quintessential catalyst of social media dominance, we know that the internet is forever because it is hard to imagine life without it.

I’m not a numbers person (see: prefers English and writing), so I’m sorry I don’t have the stats, but the economic impact of Instagram alone in terms of advertising, employment of content creators and personal brand marketing (i.e. celebrities clawing at relevancy) is undeniable.

Posting this and actively attempting to grow the LTS brand through Instagram is ironic, but I want to be clear: I don’t want Instagram to change drastically. I’m a huge fan of the app (I will never disclose my screen time, so don’t ask). I suppose Edward Sheeran has reminded me of the fun I used to have on the app in those early years, posting after a pool day with friends or sharing my excitement when I got the salmon coloured Chuck Taylors that soon became part of my anatomy.

Beyond my weekly TikToks, I want to challenge myself to post more liberally and be more Instagram Alive #IRL. After all, the internet can’t be forever. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez have said that word to each other many times… look at what happened there.