Instagram, Straight Flexin’

Posted on April 20th, 2015

Disclaimer: Contrary to appearances, this post is not a shameless plug for you to follow my Instagram.  Which, incidentally, you can do here.

Instagram kind of cracks me up.  There are so many different ways to curate an Instagram account, but that’s a post for another day.  One of the most amusing Instagram phenomena is the disconnect between a post’s significance and the way its received by the public.  To illustrate this point, I would like to turn my own account.  Let’s countdown my most popular Instagrams of all time, starting with #371, the Easter tree at the Lilly Pulitzer Pink Palace, with a grand total of zero likes:

Just kidding.  Maybe let’s just do the top five.

#5: I graduate from an amazing college, and I thank my parents.

#4: I go shopping in Bryant Park.

#2 (tied)- I celebrate my fifth anniversary with my darling boyfriend.

#2 (tied): My little brother, Turner, is a boss and runs the New York marathon on the 10th anniversary of his diagnosis with Type 1 Diabetes; he is the 10th fastest person 19 & under to complete the race.

And the most popular post I have made, the thing that people were happiest to see, is…

#1: I eat a bagel.

Granted, it was a special bagel.  A warm, fresh french toast bagel with birthday cake sprinkle cream cheese.  (Tompkins Square Bagels.  Check it out.)  But is it really more special than the events that were tied for second?  I sure hope not!  And I know, geotags make a difference here, and some of the people who liked the bagel shot are unknown to me, but still.  Instagram is supposed to be a highly visual platform, and I think this example demonstrates it is succeeding in its purest mission.  People like what catches their eye, and from that standpoint, my ooey gooey bagel is more appealing than sappy photos with my loved ones.

Nevertheless… Amusing.