Shelley Bridgeman: Five Instagram traps to watch out for

The only good photographs I ever have include horses so, in hindsight, it was inevitable these would be my Instagram focus. Photo / Getty

Facebook and Twitter do not appeal to me. I don't find their features useful enough or desirable enough that they outweigh the negatives I associate with these online forums. I have no appetite for the toxicity they sometimes host, the heated arguments that flare up, the righteous positions held and the offence that is so easily taken. So, the answer is obvious. I just stay away from them.

But a year ago I discovered Instagram - and, all of a sudden, I became a veritable social media fiend. Since then I've posted over 300 photographs and amassed over a thousand followers. So far it strikes me as an upbeat site. People post pretty photographs and other people "like" the images or add a nice comment. I haven't yet witnessed much nastiness but it would be easy to opt out of even if it was present.

Yet things are not all rosy in the world of Instagram. Here are five traps for young players.

ONE: Misuse of captions

The words you type beneath your Instagram photographs are supposed to constitute a caption. I take this convention literally. For example, if I post a photograph of a horse eating hay, I would most likely caption it: "Horse eating hay". That might be redundant but, hey, I'm old-fashioned like that.

Because my Instagram account is horse-themed, a lot of my followers seem to be pony-mad 13-year-old girls. And some of these girls use Instagram captions in quite a different way. I have discovered that they might post a photograph but the point of doing so was actually to enable them to express some feelings - which may or may not relate to the substance of the image concerned. This can be problematic for Instagram users accustomed to responding to the image itself.

Once, as I blithely hit the little heart-shaped "like" button beneath a nice pony photograph, I somehow registered the gist of what the girl had written beneath it. So, I went back and read the words I'd just indirectly "liked". They were along the lines of: "I don't know why I bother. Nothing's going right and no one would miss me anyway."

That was a dilemma. I could have just "unliked" the photograph but if she'd already seen the "like" then this could be just another rejection when she was already feeling down. I didn't want the girl to think I was agreeing with the idea that no one would miss her so I felt obliged to leave a comment to clarify. The sentiment was: "Sorry to hear how you're feeling right now. Hope you feel better soon. Take care."

TWO: Captions in foreign languages

Some of my followers use a language other than English. Sometimes, in order to repay a prior "like" of one of my posts, I will "like" one of their photographs despite not knowing what the caption says. There is a built-in translation feature but I usually can't be bothered using it. When I'm on a "liking" spree efficiency is important. There's no time to figure out what everyone is saying. Nobody has time for that.

Here is my hitherto unwritten disclaimer that pertains to all of my (previous and future) "likes": "These are distributed on the basis that your image and its accompanying caption are well-meaning and respectful of yourself, humankind, animals and the environment."

THREE: Disappointed followers

My horse-themed account evolved almost by accident. The only good photographs I ever have include horses so, in hindsight, it was inevitable these would be my Instagram focus. Most of my active followers are equestrian people and I've become acquainted with some of them in real life just because of our Instagram connection. That's the good news.

I reckon the bad news is for my non-horsey friends who follow me. Most of these women are city folk who, I imagine, wouldn't relish the unending supply of equine photographs clogging up their Instagram feeds. Although I've not heard a negative word, I sometimes imagine their private conversations: "Seriously, how many horse photos does anyone need? This is getting ridiculous. We get it. She likes horses. She has horses. She rides horses. Horses eat hay. If I see another horse photo ... Do you think she'd notice if we unfollowed her?" Sorry, Ladies. I probably would. Just saying.

FOUR: Unexpected political posts

Because I see Instagram as a largely benign environment and because I follow mostly lifestyle or equestrian accounts, it's jarring to see, say, a Trump-themed cartoon appear in my feed.

It's especially odd when a 13-year-old girl suddenly posts something political amidst all their horse photographs. I'm like: "Yeah, yeah, I get it. Your Mummy and Daddy don't like Trump but I just visit Insta for the ponies. More ponies please." I usually don't "like" these - mainly because I think there are more appropriate forums for mocking democratically elected leaders.

FIVE: Supernatural threats

Some teenagers like ghost stories and issuing threats to other users of Instagram. One of the text-based photographs I read recently said: "Hi, I'm Michael, I'm 7 years old. My sister murdered me ... If you repost, I'll protect you forever. If you don't repost I will come to your house at exactly 2.09 A.M and kill ... with a knife. You have 9 minutes ..."

Needless to say, I'm not a fan of such threats. I definitely don't "like" these posts. I always think about blocking the person concerned but then I figure she's probably 13-years-old and just going through a stage. So, I ignored this and the one about the sinister murdering girl who "will pay you a visit at 5.37 tomorrow morning" if you don't repost the warning. Seriously? This is a really silly use of Instagram.