Instagram is to selfies what Facebook is to tagging a friend. Relentless, free conversation, session upon session of photo-clicking, sharing and uploading and all that razzmatazz have made Instagram a revered social media channel for most of us.
But in case you thought that Instagram was only about finding your way into an entire world’s kaleidoscope, unhindered by geography and unobstructed by miles of differences, think again.
Big news coming in from the stable of the world’s favourite photo uploading platform- the mothership of platforms like say Flickr- is that Instagram is going to come hard at users who seem to be besotted with clicking selfies with animals.
In developing news, media reports from Instagram suggest that animal selfies are more harmful than the seemingly harmless innocence they portray. That, there seems to be a lot of animal cruelty going on in these times are a concern where Instagram stands, with the popular photo-uploading platform doing its bit to stand for animal rights.
In this current, ongoing week, as and when any user searches for popular hashtags such as #slothselfie or say, #quokkaselfie, Instagram will work toward functioning a pop up. The pop up message will appear with a warning that the posts you are about to see may be associated with animal abuse.
One reckons, basis this development, that the idea behind initiating this simple move is one which is clear in intent and pure in spirit. Instagram doesn’t want to encourage people with clicking too many selfies or even no selfies, at all, with physical interaction with animals. Animals aren’t always harmful and are, in fact, sensitive, fragile in nature.
People- tourists, travellers, wildlife enthusiasts et cetera- are more likely to take a Koala bear or snake in hand that click a picture with them from some safe distance. As a result, they are bound to suffer or be troubled in some or the other. Therefore, from now on, Instagram is going to alleviate carelessness that comes as a part and parcel of people clicking selfies with animals. Messages carrying a polite, straightforward intimation shall be broadcasted to users from now on, “ Animal abuse and sale of endangered animals or their parts is not allowed on Instagram”, the pop-up message shall entail.