The Instagram Generation

There is no avoiding the fact that social media apps are now saturated into modern culture and have evolved to become a dominant presence in people’s everyday lives. The likes of Instagram and Snapchat are popularly associated with the younger generation, as images and videos offer a deeper insight into the lives of friends and celebrities.

But as students, does the social burden of filming every waking second to remain present on a timeline restrict our ability to have fun on a night out? Many possess the subconscious obsession to broadcast their vibrant lifestyles, and to their surprise, shouting slurred lyrics into your phone camera in a club for hours on end may not be the idea of a brilliant night out after all.

But raving snapchat stories and pre-drink selfies have become a habit that is embedded into the itinerary of a student night out…

Living in an age of staggering technological progress, it is unavoidable how we overlook the unique privilege of capturing enjoyable moments whenever we please. But raving snapchat stories and pre-drink selfies have become a habit that is embedded into the itinerary of a student night out. Many students cannot withstand the urge to entice their online peers to a chronology of their night, from the first tequila shot to the last. This even filters down to concerts, as people spend extortionate amounts of money to watch their idols through their screens to make sure they capture a video of an adequate quality.

As members of an extremely image-conscious society, I fear the pressure to depict the famous ‘uni-life’ on our timelines acts as a boundary to the levels of our enjoyment. Countless numbers of students could probably predict the remnants of their night out before they leave through the door.

The glows of iPhones usually decorate the dancefloor; eyes seem to fixate on glass screens as if they were vacuums…

Totally opposing Instagram and Snapchat would be ignorant to its innovative style of modern communication, but having pride in your stories and continuously uploading your wild social antics defeats the purpose of going out to socialise with your friends. The ancient art of a thing called ‘a conversation’ has also diminished from nightlife due to social media, unless you end up sat on a wet curb having a heart-to-heart with your friend.

The glows of iPhones usually decorate the dancefloor; eyes seem to fixate on glass screens as if they were vacuums. Maybe if social media apps didn’t dictate the intricacies of our daily lives, a night out would consist of bonding and social integration rather than dilemmas of whether the lighting was good enough to upload on your last video.

For many, filming your every action may define your night as enjoyable, but it is the subconscious pressure to maintain a media presence which restricts the majority of students from enduring new experiences…

How the world communicates has become so simplified and effortless that we choose to do it more than it is necessary. The priority of image in today’s society has polluted the way we act and has made us more socially dedicated to the cyber world rather than the real world. For many, filming your every action may define your night as enjoyable, but it is the subconscious pressure to maintain a media presence which restricts the majority of students from enduring new experiences.

Unfortunately, the cycle of monotonous snapchat stories and identical selfies is only at its early stages, as the generation of toddlers who can use iPads without thinking are sure to take ignorance and miscommunication to new heights.