Craving for likes on Instagram is like fighting over the last piece of Ritter Chocolate (“Crunchy Whole Nuts”, in my case): it’s a zap to my system, and a sense of the chocolate’s sweetness melting in my mouth operates like an endorphin generator. But, instead of sugar and fats, we’re dealing here with emojis, likes, and a digital judgment of my photographic choices.
Much like a warm, aromatic cup of morning sanity – I mean – coffee, that ‘ping’ of a new like, comment, or dare I say, a new follower, is an instantaneous hit.
It’s called instant gratification, the brain’s complex equivalent of a seal that receives a fish as a reward for a trick.
Seeing a like on your carefully crafted, meticulously edited, stunning sunset photo sends a rush of dopamine flowing through your brain the same way chocolate, coffee, and for some, alcohol or other addictive substances do.
Before you know it, you’re hooked, and your chase for likes develops into a bizarre preoccupation that controls your day. Worse, it becomes this digital put-down: “I am a bad photographer. I am unwanted like a third wheel on a romantic date or a vegan at a barbecue.”
Looking for the truth
So, a few moments of truth excavation here. Has this unrelenting chase for digital approval been influencing my photographic eye, instincts, or style?
My days of shooting random objects because they appealed to me are long gone. Today, I have personal preferences and topics thatd like any other photographer, I interest me, an have an idea about the final result.
The question is do I shoot a photo because of its potential “likeability”? Am I getting into a mindset where I would choose to shoot the vegan, gluten-free, matcha-flavored, unicorn-inspired, rainbow-colored, foam-art-topped latte rather than the gruff minibus driver with a face that told a thousand tales?
I would like to think that I don’t, but I do spend time thinking about captions, keywords, and with this blog also about search engines and the resulting SEO efforts.
If I am honest, I do like the recognition. I could take a photo and just enjoy it on my computer screen, but I chose to upload it to Instagram. Part of Meta, who I deeply Dislike. This is the part that scares my “megapixel” core. Is this the morphing part?
In the grand spectacle of these Instagram-induced feelings, I need to make sure not to forget or sacrifice my passion for photography for volatile digital fame on Instagram. I don’t want to become one of the Insta-Junkies I usually make fun of. Luckily, my few hundred followers do not qualify me as internet famous.
Let’s frame photos into memories, not Algorhytm-dominated likes. Let’s focus on art and enjoy the like, instead of aiming for the recognition and bending the art into a means for likes.
I can only hope that, in the dopamine-deprived corridors of Instagram, this message might just get enough likes to keep resonating. Just kidding. Or am I?