In the summer of 7th grade, I begged my mom for an Instagram account. She let me have a phone, play games, and text, so what harm could this nice little photo sharing app do? The answer? A lot.

If I ask my friends the one app that they use the most, it’s Instagram. Instead of texting, they can DM (Direct Message) through Instagram. Instead of surfing the web or watching Youtube videos, they’re on Instagram. But what’s wrong with that?

Don’t get me started. First of all, Instagram is a total time waster. When looking at the photos, you can see accounts that liked them, and that were tagged in them. Then you can click on those people and see their photos, and see who liked them. Eventually, you’re swept into a vortex of intriguing names, words, and pictures. One day, I looked up from my phone and realized 20 minutes had gone by. When I looked back down, I was on the Instagram account of a 3 year old girl with cancer. After hitting the back arrow 17 times, I finally arrived where I had started, a video of my friend doing a skateboard trick that had absolutely nothing to do with the little girl. What was her name again? Who cares, she was cute! And that’s the whole problem. For those of you arguing that Instagram is a great way to connect and share with others, think again. No connection goes on when you’re looking at the 100th perfectly crafted, angled, and filtered selfie with a meaningless Pinterest quote of a girl you barely know!

What if you want to search for a friend or a hashtag? You go to the search button. But it’s not just a search button, it’s a search page. Instagram veterans would say no big deal. However, take a step back for a second. When you want to search something or someone, the small search tab almost disappears under the pile of media that pops up. And of course, everything is recommended for you based on pictures you looked at and liked. Instagram has created a foolproof system to keep you locked in forever. Clog your screen with endless photos and videos chosen to fit your preferences, and… I’m surprised we even go about our lives anymore! Instagram is just visual stimuli that eats up hours of our time!

After being on Instagram for a few weeks, I became privy to the phenomenon known as personal and public accounts. For those of you who don’t know, “Mains” are the accounts that you want people to see. This is where you post your artsy nature photos and your best hyper edited selfies. You let almost anyone follow it because you’re proud of it and the image it projects. When others look at your main account, they see the best possible you(even though that look may have been created using makeup and filters and retakes). They look at themselves and think, “I’ll never be as beautiful as her.” “I’ll never be as cool as him.” Instagram creates feelings of jealousy and low self-esteem because you’re constantly comparing yourself to others.

If this isn’t bad enough, let me tell you about personals. You let a select few of your closest friends follow your personal, and you post things that you like, things you want to share, random pictures, anything. This means that you can post a lot. Some people post 25 times a day on their personals. These personals become like a dumbed down diary or blog. I once came across my friend taking pictures of a crack in the wall in order to have something to post so she could rant in the caption about someone who annoyed her! But sometimes it gets more serious, and that’s my problem. When friends post some personal details about something that happened to them, or say things that are really dramatic, you don’t know what to do. When faced with the post, “I want to KMS,” (kill myself) I have no idea how to respond. It could just be a joking reaction to something irritating that happened. But it could also be a cry for help. Instagram is making it easier for people to post things like this, and harder for us to understand their true meaning. When you look at someone’s personal, you should be able to tell exactly who they are. The only problem is that you don’t know who really posted it, where they posted it, and what their state of mind was. The publisher has the power to make themselves into anyone they want to be. In person, it’s hard to hide who you truly are or what you’re trying to say, but on Instagram, everything is hidden behind a brightly colored facade of images.

The real, real reason I wanted an Instagram so badly was the FOMO syndrome that affects millions across America and beyond. What is it, you ask? The fear of missing out. I felt out of the loop when I didn’t have Instagram, and I wanted in! Once you’re on Instagram for some time and start following a lot of people, you want to see everything they post. If you go for a few days without looking at any photos, you get anxious. “What are people posting? What am I missing out on?” Instagram has become such a vital part of everyone’s lives. They are afraid of being left behind. I yearn for the old days when I didn’t have Instagram, just so I wouldn’t feel so obligated to check it.

So, I’m not saying you have to delete your Instagram account and never look at your phone again. It’s okay if you want to check out what’s happening every once in awhile. Everything is fine in moderation, but it’s when you start looking constantly that it’s a problem. Try not to be sucked in. When you see those beautiful pictures, look around and find your own beauty. Take a break to sit outside, pet your cat, read a book. And when you’re posting, don’t let Instagram become your way of talking to others, trying to communicate your feelings with emojis and hashtags and hidden messages. They won’t get it, because they’re looking at their phone miles away from where you are, and it’s impossible to have a connection like that.

Instagram is addictive and narcissistic. It promotes envy and comparison of others’ looks to your own. It makes you share too much of your life, yet not enough for anyone to help you. It glues you to your screen for hours of mindless viewing. Instagram is not a healthy app. I would keep going but… Ooh! There’s a new filter on Snapchat!