Instagram is a great way to stay connected to topics and people of interest. The dialogue is generally more positive than other social media platforms, and the communities created can be fun and educational. However, there is tons of shmutz on there (if not outright porn) and, as far as I know, there aren't any filters available for the app (aside from blocking it).

I'd love to hear how you've made decisions about IG. Did you use it before you started committing to shmiras einayim? Have you continued to use IG even now? If so, how have you managed that balance?

One of the many conversations between me and my wife around shmiras einayim has been about certain apps, in particular YouTube and Instagram on the smartphone. I have GenTech installed and at the moment it's blocking those apps. So far I'm doing well, and I'd like to have those apps back, but they certainly pose additional risk. The rewards, though, are increased freedom and hopefully increased trust, in addition to the questionable reward of more social media.

I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

Thanks,
Cy

You didn't mention another reward of not having IG, you'll discover a few extra hours in your day...

lol. true.

I feel like the alcoholic who has given up drinking but growls at anyone who comments on his smoking. 

Hey Chaim Yankle,

I think your question is a valid question even for people not struggling with shmiras Einayim. To be honest, i don't have, or hve i ever participated in social media platforms (bar LinkedIn) so i might not be the best person to comment, but i'm going to anyways:
My understanding is, like you said, there is a lot of shmutz and wasteful stuff which is useless, and just wastes precious time and brain space. I dont know what "fun and education" you refer to, but am i mistaken that you can't do that on whatsapp group, or get education on the internet...
​I definitely think that it is worth coming to some sort of compromise with your wife on this issue, both in terms of general and Shalom bayis. 
I'm happy to discuss further if you so desire, either by email/hangout or via chat- 360gye@gmail.com

Hey, 

My thoughts are that since IG has their algorithm set up in such a way that the explore feature will display content similar to what you've viewed (regardless of wether or not you've deleted the history) if you aren't careful and view photos a few times it will just make it exponentially harder to clean up your feed. 

I haven't found IG to be a platform that is too educational and the demographic is dominated by women so it's very hard to justify that app in particular. I find Facebook to be a lot easier to control as the content is generally geared towards a more mature demographic. 

​For communal and social content I would stick to WhatsApp groups which are cleaner. I use my IG for marketing in work and now that I'm getting more serious about shmiras einayim I am finding a hard time justifying the app. Even using it for my business the threat is so high it outweighs the rewards. 

Just my $0.02