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What are the pros and cons of Instagram? Why do some people love this platform so much, yet others think it is a horrible disadvantage and brings out the worst in people?
For many people, Instagram has become an important part of their lives! For those few who don’t know, Instagram is a social media platform where one shares photos and videos. It has become one of the strongest outlets for brand advertising and marketing.
Therefore, today’s blog is all about the pros and cons of Instagram.
Lets dig into these advantages and disadvantages of this extremely popular social media platform.
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13 Pros And Cons Of Instagram – Advantages & Disadvantages
1. More Visual Platform
Instagram is all about sharing photos. Therefore, the biggest pro of Instagram is that it provides a more visual medium. It means that it provides more space and more innovative ways to edit and post your photos and other visual content. There is a variety of filters and you can’t deny your love for those!
Filters are a LIFESAVER! They make our haggard morning faces legit post-able and we can happily write that caption: I woke up like this!
Therefore, the first advantage of Instagram goes like this.
2. Successful Promotion Of Brands
Instagram started initially as a platform for sharing photos but now it is a gateway to promote brands strategically and effectively. Brands make their IG pages and display their products with the prices and details. Customers can easily access them and order them without any hassle.
For new startups, it becomes easier to create an audience and form a strong digital footprint of their brand. Even individuals like models and actors use it to create their fan base.
Also, Instagram is the go-to place for a blogger these days. The shortcut to become famous and serve as a brand ambassador is to make an Instagram account and post content on lifestyle, glamour, or any other talent that you have. Its like mini YouTube! Therefore, another VALUABLE pro of Instagram is that it an effective platform to promote brands and ace all your marketing strategies.
3. More Engaging Interface
We all know that Instagram is easy to use. Even for middle-aged aunties and old uncles! It is easy and fun to use. Therefore it stands as its most prominent advantage among the pros and cons of Instagram.
Unlike Facebook, there isn’t a huge flood of information that is hard to process. Also, Instagram provides a unique way of displaying your Profile and has an option of layouts to choose from.
This engagement factor drives all people to Instagram despite other available platforms.
4. Traveler’s First Choice
Like Bloggers, Instagram has become a hub for travelers too. How? It has a geotagging feature and it works super smooth! So wherever you go, you can easily put the location of your photo when you post it. Therefore, Instagram is a heaven for travelers.
Also, you can see a bunch of other public accounts that display their travel stories and photos. So here goes another impressive pro of Instagram among its pros and cons.
5. Strict Privacy
Like every other platform, Instagram takes its privacy quite seriously. It has the option of making your photos private or public. It has the option to block accounts and report them if they conduct any offensive activity.
Instagram also comes with the option to select the list of people with whom you want to share your stories so people find this factor quite powerful and independent. It is like you have the power over the whole Insta and it will move on your instructions! Well, technically, IT DOES MOVE on your instructions, so enjoy being the master of your game here.
Therefore, its strong privacy measures provide us with another advantage among the pros and cons of Instagram.
6. Extra But Useful Features
Apart from filters. Instagram’s game is strong when it comes to analyzing the extra features it has. Boomerang and Photo grid are a part of Instagram so you don’t have the difficulty to post your photos in fun loops now.
Also, there’s a feature to share live streams and videos. So one can say that Instagram is smart when it comes to putting its every feature to use. Therefore, how can we deny this beneficial pro among its pros and cons?
7. IGTV
As I wrote above, you are familiar with this abbreviation now. IGTV is an abbreviation for Instagram T.V. Initially, Instagram came with an option to upload videos but the timing was restricted to 1 minute. With IGTV, you can upload videos of any length and keep roaring at Instagram like a king!
So now, there’s a plethora of video content to look at, and its not a surprise that Instagram is giving a tough competition to YouTube. Furthermore, you don’t need traditional media anymore for advertising. Your android will do the job!
8. Instagram Business Profile
So how can I forget my bloggers here? Blogging is a concept that came to life after the inception of Instagram. Therefore, if you are promoting something, you want your audience to contact you easily.
Therefore, the Instagram business profile comes equipped with a Contact Button. Now, you can use this contact button in accordance with your requirements. For example, you might want the audience to land on your homepage, or you might want the audience to mail you directly. You can also enable the users to see your location and call you through that. Furthermore, you can embed links to your stories if you have more than 10,000 followers.
Talk about acing the CONNECTIVITY- factor! Here’s Instagram, in a bunch of ever-growing pros for you.
Now let’s shed some light on its disadvantages.
5 Disadvantages & Cons of Instagram
1. Overwhelming Advertisements
Instagram is a place where anyone can become an Influence and make his/her fan base. It only costs some bucks out of your pocket. Here, you will say that isn’t it great? Yeah, it is but too much of it can be a curse and is frankly, quite overwhelming.
Just like in movies, ads are always a hated entity and Instagram displays sponsored ads after every four to five posts so yeah it is very annoying. Therefore, excess of everything is bad just got real here and that labels its first con among the pros and cons of Instagram.
2. Creates A Need For A Fake Life
Well, that’s not a surprise that social media platforms are your G0-to for fake personas and for other gratification sources. Instagram in this matter is no less a player. It leads the people to develop fake personas and divert their time and energy into something which isn’t real. Therefore, all the smiling photos are not real as there are distorted and destroyed lives behind them.
On the contrary, scientists say that it is good to vent out your frustrations by posting it online. But researchers who disagree, state that frustration should be aligned with the relative set of mind. Coping techniques differ from person to person but still, it is an open topic for debate.
This need for validation and fame is highly toxic and affects people negatively. Therefore, this stands as an imminent threat among the pros and cons of Instagram.
3. Fewer Features On Web
If you are a slight tech-junkie then you will know that Instagram sucks on the web. Its web version is not so interesting and comes short in many features that it provides in its mobile version.
Instagram is in the process of slowly shifting its mobile features on the web but this will take time. In the meanwhile, persons who have to work on the web find Instagram downright sh*ty.
Therefore, its shortcomings on the web mark another prominent con among the pros and cons of Instagram.
4. Instagram is ADDICTIVE
Every social media platform is addictive. Period. Remember the times when Facebook-BANG happened and we were glued to our phones. It’s the same case today with only Instagram replacing Facebook.
So we can’t deny that it is not addictive. We neglect talking and actual human interaction due to these social apps and therefore, forget what real relations mean. So yeah, Instagram is addictive like any drug. One needs to have its daily dose or he will get moody, cranky, or anything else mad that happens as a result of no dose.
Therefore, Instagram has the ability to make us addicted to it and that is the biggest con among its pros and cons.
5. Technical Drawbacks
As I wrote above, Instagram comes with some massive technical drawbacks. The platform is only optimized for mobiles/androids hence its web version is terrible.
Whereas Facebook is equally easy to operate on the web as it is on a cellphone. Another drawback is that there is no individual setting for photo’s privacy. Whereas, Facebook’s photo setting is the same for the web and the android version. So these technical faults sum up as another con among the pros and cons of Instagram.
FAQ – Frequently Asked Question On Pros And Cons Of Instagram
Who Uses Instagram Most?
The United States has the most users at 116 million, after that India at 73 million and Brazil at 72 million. This worldwide presence is making the network attractive to both brands and influencers equally.
What Are the Negatives Of Instagram?
Instagram was found to have the most pessimistic overall impact on a young person’s mental health. The prevalent photograph sharing app has an adverse effect on body image and sleep, rises discrimination, and (FOMO) fear of missing out, and it leads to greater feelings of despair, anxiety, and loneliness.
Is Instagram Better Than FB?
Instagram engagement rate is more than Facebook. The research found a comparison between the average likes per post on FB and average likes per post on Instagram. They discovered that Instagram is a clear champion and becoming more Instagram likes on posts.
What Is the Advantage Of Instagram?
What Is the advantage Of Instagram? Instagram content pushes more involved traffic than other photographic social content from YouTube or Pinterest. Furthermore, Instagram will help you engage with your target audience on the social media platform, increasing the possibility that you can bring consumers back for repeat acquisitions.
Instagram Pros & Cons – The Final Word
As you know the pros and cons of Instagram now, it is up to you to decide which aspect to support. I would say to balance the usage of Instagram and allot a specific time to it so it won’t interfere in your other daily affairs. So stick for moderate usage and you will do fine.
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