Social Media can be very daunting and confusing, especially for those who have never used it before. If you have never used social media then Instagram may be the place to start. It is one of the most popular social networking sites in the world. The best part about it is that it’s all about photographs!
What is Instagram?
Instagram is a free photo sharing app, where people simply take photographs and share them with each other. Instagram was designed to be used on either a mobile device or tablet. It can be used to interact with others as much, or in some cases, as little as you like. The idea behind it is that you would sign up and follow other people based on the photos they post. To start with you would just follow your close family and friends. It can be used as a way to catch up with what they’re doing.
Should my loved one get Instagram?
The appeal is that it is all photo based, with very little writing. Therefore, you can see photographs of your loved ones’ recent events, such as holidays, graduations or just their day to day life in the form of pictures. It enables you to see photos of events within minutes of them happening, and stops you having to wait weeks or month to see those much sort after snaps.
After someone has posted a photo, you can interact with it by liking the photo or leaving comments on it – Such as ‘lovely photo’. You can use Instagram without ever posting any photos yourself. If your main aim is to just keep up to date with family and friends, but don’t have any photos you want to share yourself, that isn’t a problem!
Instagram, like all social media does have it’s risks. However, if you ensure the correct privacy settings are turned on then it shouldn’t be a problem. See our blog about how to stay safe online for more tips.
How to use Instagram?
- Firstly go to the sign up page on your desktop, or download the free Instagram app from the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play Store (Android).
- You may already have a Facebook account. If so, it will give you the option to ‘Log in with Facebook’. By clicking this it will automatically create you an account linked to your Facebook.
- If you don’t have Facebook then sign up using your email address or mobile number.
- It will then ask you for details about yourself, such as full name and date of birth.
- After you’ve filled out your username and password, you will be instructed to fill out your profile. Have a look at our blog to help you choose a secure log in!
- Once you are on the Instagram home page, click the little image of a person, this will take you to your profile.
- From here, you can click ‘edit profile’ or the small settings symbol.
- This is where you can turn your profile to ‘private’. This means only people you approve can follow you and see your photographs.
How to share a photo?
Once your profile is up and running and you have connected with a few family members, you may want to upload a photograph. Whether this be a picture of your flowers, an old photograph or even a selfie, it is very easy to do!
At the bottom of the screen click the small plus icon in the middle. This will take you to a new screen and display the most recent photos you have taken. You can choose a photo here to upload. Alternatively, if you want to take a new photo to upload, simply press ‘photo’ which will be in the middle, at the bottom of the screen. This will take you to a camera screen. It may ask you to allow access to your camera and microphone. This is fine to do so.
After you have taken the photo, it will let you choose between a number of different filters to use. You can upload it as ‘normal’ or choose one of the many filters. Once you are happy with your decision click ‘next’ in the top right hand corner. This page will ask you if you want to write a caption to go with the photo, this can explain what the photo is of. At this stage you are also able to tag any people in the photo or where the photo was taken. This is all completely optional.
The final stage is then the share the photo. This is done by pressing ‘share’, in the top right corner. Once doing so, you will be taken back to the main feed, where you can view the photo you posted, alongside your family and friends photos!
Careline
If you feel like your loved one would benefit from a little extra security at home, a personal alarm is a great idea. If you have any questions about our service, please do get in touch with our Customer Service Team on 0808 304 4168 or via email at info@careline.co.uk
