Insta-inspiration is better than envy for 'grammers'

After a long gap I paid a visit to the gym. It was like walking into Instagram with its abundance of six packs, perfectly toned bodies, intent and discipline. It is easy to fall into the envy trap unless you can stay focused on your workout. On day one, I felt terrible about myself. For the large multitude of users, this is what it feels like when scrolling through Instagram.

We digital chroniclers are unapologetically documenting our happy moments on Instagram, the social media app that is all about sharing photos and video. It's called 'gramming'. We post anything that is Insta-worthy. Some a little more than others; like a plateful of beautiful food art that looks like Picasso turned into a celebrated chef. The posts flaunt a romantic couple; their blue sky and sun-kissed vacation; their gorgeous kids posing with penguins that are almost smiling.

The posts don't send everyone into a ?sinkhole of depression, but they do make a large number of people upset about their own lives, which appears increasingly boring in comparison to that of others. Psychiatrists are increasingly seeing patients who suffer from what they call a case 'comparititis'. We are constantly comparing our lives with the seemingly extraordinary lives of others on Instagram. Instagram is becoming life's benchmark of sorts where the goals keep moving away from us.

It's official. We are feeling envious on an epic scale. Some people call this an age of envy. We are envious about everything that we see others post. Because somehow our real lives can never quite match up to the digital lives of others. Envy is an intense feeling of desiring a thing or a quality that others possess, accompanied by unhappiness. Envy has always been considered a powerful feeling - potent enough to start legendary wars in the old days.

Many cultures have traditionally feared the evil eye of envy also called ayn al-hasud or nazar. The reason why Indian homes sport the angry faced mustachioed pot or the lemon-chilly charm. Our grandparents would go through great length to downplay their success or happiness lest someone should feel envious. But on Instagram, all we indulge in is humblebragging that feels like insta-crime when we consider what it does to others.

Most people who get onto social media are passive users and tend to scroll through the posts. There is a strong correlation between passive usage and envy. What we see is determined by Instagram's algorithm that has constantly evolved to ensure we stay engaged or rather trapped in the vortex of other people's mundane happenings that appear far from mundane on Instagram. The algorithm demi-god decides what you see on Instagram. It has been designed to show you posts based on relationships with other users. If you have commented or liked posts of a particular friend, then chances are you will see more posts from the same person. This creates your inner ring of influencers.

Through computer vision, Instagram's algorithm recognises the objects in your posts, thus getting a handle on your interests. If I have posted pictures of my dogs, my Insta feed will be full of dog pictures. Then there is the recency rule that suggests that the insta-feed ranking prioritises most freshly posted content. This logic fulfils the algorithm's key objective of making you stay engaged longer and serving you relevant ads. Brands also work their way into posts of social media influencers - who wear the proverbial black belt of social media engagement.

We form our opinion about others based on a series of well-crafted visual snippets of their lives. But the trouble is that it is only one version of their reality. The other not so pleasant versions get 'filtered' out or never show up on their Insta-feed. This is why social media experts advise us to post stunning pictures because they attract more likes and followers. When you hit 100,000 followers, you move into the rarified club of some highly paid social media influencers.

But Instagram is not all about causing gloom. It has countercultures that have spawned a diversity in how we perceive beauty or our well-being. Many users share their unfiltered pictures that defiantly show the flaws on their bodies and their lives, complete with pimples, freckles, tire bellies and all the real-world problems that we deal with. It has given photographers and artists an incredible platform to share their art.

It is really up to us how we choose to respond to the pictures and videos on our Insta-feed. The same Instagram post could be inspiring or depressing. Looking at someone flaunting her six packs could inspire me to be more regular at the gym or have that low "what-am-I-doing-with-my-life feeling". So, it is important to take a step back and watch our own response in a detached manner as though we were watching a movie. We can be more engaged with posts that inspire us towards self-care and self-love. There is a fine line between envy and inspiration. It is up to us to decide which side of the line we fall on.

Shalini Verma is CEO of PIVOT technologies