If social media is anything, in all of its good and bad, it’s dynamic. It continues to evolve over time, with new fads and trends emerging every day. As some things online change and some things stay the same. The way we use platforms such as Instagram reflects key elements of the networks that paved the way for the social media rise with a modern twist and new capabilities. From the photos we take to the words we use; some find it difficult to keep up with the masses. While today it seems like without an Instagram aesthetic you’re banished into the Land of Misfit Posts, there are quite a few components of social media that are still the same all these years later.
Created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger in 2010 before it was purchased by Facebook in 2012, a previous rival and eventual predecessor of MySpace as the world’s most used social media platform, Instagram would become a hit amongst younger generations. Offering users a way to exhibit their own creativity and connect with friends online, Instagram allows users to explore their personal expression of self-whilst online.
A key factor linking MySpace, Facebook and Instagram is that they are all channels for photo sharing. To be able to express ourselves virtually through images and videos is perhaps one of the largest draws of social media.
Today, a common posting trend on Instagram is the “photo dump.” The term refers to a collection of images in a post in consecutive slides that a follower or viewer can scroll through. As of August 2024, Instagram users can now use up to 20 photos or videos in one post.
Each photo dump serves a purpose, whether to entertain, share art, reflect on time or memories, or to reminisce through images on a modern social platform.
For University of Miami student Octavian Draghici, a senior majoring in political science, photo dumps allow him to stay connected with friends and share unique moments of his life. As an avid traveler, Draghici likes to share moments from his trips.
“I just want to share with people something they might think is cool and new, something that people can see quickly and might be entertained by,” he says.
Apart from being a jovial counterpart to one of his hobbies, Draghici’s photo dumps are more thought-out than they may appear.
“I may be able to make multiple posts from a single trip,” the senior said before giving an example. “If one day I am in the mountains, I can put together photos that match a particular aesthetic, and for other days or other parts of the trip I can put together a post that goes with another particular aesthetic or is a random combination of photos from my trip.”
While photo-dumps are a fun and unique way to express oneself artistically and connect with friends, Draghici cites another way the platform ignites his creativity.
“I’m a drummer,” he says, “and I am able to get a lot of inspiration from the drumming accounts I follow.”
Another political science major set to graduate in 2025 from the University of Miami, Brandon Nalaboff, finds Instagram to be a great way to share his hobbies and his personality.
An active member of the platform, consistently creating and posting photo dumps, Nalaboff says “I like to upload pictures of myself, but also what I’m seeing and experiencing as well,” and encourages those who want to make a photo dump for the first time to “follow your hobbies, go explore places that you think you would enjoy and most importantly take pictures!”
“Without a supply of pictures, a dump wouldn’t even be possible,” Nalaboff says. Consistently looking out for potential content, Nalaboff does not underscore the importance of variety in a photo dump. Methodically choosing what goes where in his photo dumps, Nalaboff makes sure to mix it up.
“I make sure to mix up the flow of pictures of myself, and my experiences throughout the post in a somewhat random order after the first photo,” Nalaboff said before including that usually “the first three to four photos have the most interaction,” causing him to choose what he finds to be most intriguing as the first image.
While Nalaboff’s method for constructing a photo dump could serve as guideline for first time curators, a photo dump is about individual expression, sharing personal moments and experiences from one’s life, leading him to point out that making a photo dump is “totally subjective to the person actually making the post.”
Using the platform as a tunnel to voice their own individualism, both Draghici and Nalaboff’s usage of Instagram to portray themselves resembles the MySpace founders’ initial vision of what social media could become when they created their platform.
As social media’s place in society continues to develop, putting together a post or a photo dump for the first time may seem daunting. First time posters should remember that how they want to express themselves is up to them and that while other users can be a great source of inspiration, each post you make is about your identity and your voice, and how you choose to do that is all part of the fun.
Despite the fact that many users like Draghici love being on Instagram, others find it a distraction. Paris Rayneri, a University of Miami graduate student studying medical anthropology and communication sciences and disorders, is on a hiatus from her Instagram account.
When asked why she is on a break, Rayneri said “Instagram takes up too much time and I try to stay away from it.”
Rayneri’s prolonged pause from her account keeps her social media usage down significantly, although she admits to not being completely absent from the platform. She mentioned she created a second Instagram account called a “Finsta” which stands for Fake Instagram. It is a term to describe a ‘friends-only’ Instagram account. Having a Finsta is a common practice amongst users who wish to use the platform to stay connected with just a few close friends.
When asked if she would ever return to her main account, Rayneri admitted she eventually would.
“I plan to reactivate my real Instagram when I have something truly important to post. I admire when people put their beliefs or serious life experiences on Instagram. When someone mindfully posts content that can generate meaningful conversations it is definitely a breath of fresh air,” she says.
Either through photo dumps, Finstas or videos and other forms of content, Rayneri’s and Draghici’s opposite uses of the app represent how original aspects of social media are still relevant today and the evolution of social networking.
words_ben treacy. photo_@distractionmag on Instagram.
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