WHY I JOINED INSTAGRAM?

One of the very common reasons of not joining Insta or any social media platform is the common tagline "social media an illusion". It is filled with magnetic images, posts, reels and flashy deals. People are running in "the better race". Who has better profile picture..a better life..a better pet..a better car..a better job..a better house..a better travel life...and so on...while some are just stuck to the screen watching others day and night, doing nothing. This is like a black hole which pulls people in and never lets them out due to immense gravitational force. 

The other reason of staying away from social media is the work life balance. Sometimes we are engrossed too much in our work and career building that we stay away from any such engagements to have everything focused and targeted. There is no space to celebrate the luxury of life and you have to keep going in order to face other realistic challenges.

For me, the above two reasons hold true. I stayed away for quite a long time and still feel hesitant. These reasons are quite common and expectable. I will supplement it with different reason which I call- "Insta fear". SOUNDS FUNNY..NA...YEAH..TO ME ALSO... !!

Being a 90s kid from India, and indulged in studies I have always been the that "agyakari kid" of the family. I have always arrived late on social media like- my first Facebook encounter was when I finally reached my graduation. I haven't experienced few things which many kids of my age have done like- the basic chatrooms and Orkut(social networking site by google). Although being from the same generation, I could not get an opportunity to see how Orkut looked liked? This aloofness continued and by the end of my college I deleted my Facebook account as well. 
 
When I heard about Insta for the first time, I  ignored it. But slowly I realised it was not just my career pathway but a little sense of fear that was holding my legs back..a fear of not being able to compete with the society..a fear of getting lost in crowd..a fear of becoming mute spectator.. and the biggest fear..What will I do there? I guess it is not made for me.
 
I will not talk about reasons of inaccessibility of such platforms in my childhood since their might be varied reasons. But the point is, today when I hear my friends talking about such memories of adolescents, I have none. I lack stories to tell, as I am not a part of that experience.

I joined Insta after so many years to overcome my fear and explore myself. It is not for others but for my own growth. These platforms if used effectively can help you discover your very existence. This is not a social media promotion but just a note from heart. I am quite aware about it's pros and cons. (to know more you can read this: https://myideosphere.blogspot.com/2022/01/emotions-are-on-sale.html)

I don't regret my childhood since it was a gift by my parents. It was beautiful in this own studious and sincere way. Being sincere was my own choice and not a pressure. I think every kid belonging to an Indian Middle Class Family could relate to me in some or the other way. This post is a ponderance over things which I can groom in myself as an individual.

It is a message to all those who could relate to my story and to all those who have always devoted their lives running behind their goals- "Take a pause and look around. Explore all the realms of life coz this is only one life. We have to achieve our goals and keep living. We have to rise, fall, get up and chase again but we can't stop breathing. Live your life to the fullest, smile a lot, laugh a lot, love your loved ones. Sometimes take out time for yourself. Dont make your dreams bigger than you."  

Ending by a beautiful quote by M.K. Gandhi-

 "live as if you were to die tomorrow, learn as if you were to live forever"