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Maybe at the beginning the filters were a distinguishing factor (I don't know because I wasn't an early adopter, nor did I try, for example, Hipstamatic or othe

• hnriot 14y ago
  The #nofilter trend is just the natural product lifecycle. At first what makes it different becomes so mainstream that the "cool kids" now rebel. This is always the case with products. The #nofilter crowd will move on to the next photo sharing hotness as soon as it comes out. A market is made up of many demographics, the #nofilter crowd are the early adopters who want to distinguish themselves. At first this was by using filters, now it's by not using filters and leveraging their followers for the same dopamine induced reward cycle that was once delivered by the filters. So, while it may seem like I agree with you, I don't. The fact that there are filters is the big deal with Instagram, but for some people, making the choice not to use them, is their own form of self expression, but without the filters to choose not to use, it wouldn't be instagram. They are still vitally important, even when they are not used. I hope this makes sense, I am not sure I have articulated my point very well.