One of my favorite iPhone apps has always been Instagram. This photo sharing app allows its users to snap photos and apply filters (some call it tacky, others call it artsy). Its quick sharing options make it easy for users to send their photos to social networking websites. While it’s fun to see via Facebook and Twitter that Instagram has caught on, its overexposure is also a letdown.

Upon joining Instagram, I only had a few followers. And because Instagram was still relatively unknown, I was only following a few people. Back then, it was obvious that my friends using it did so with the intention of creatively portraying something cool (the array of filters makes it easier to capture the look and feel of a moment). While I’m not trying to promote myself to hipster status, I do have qualms with the more recent Instagram users.

Right around the time in which the previously iPhone-exclusive Instagram became available on Android, I noticed a huge spurt in the number of photos being Instagram-ed. I’m glad people are embracing their artistic side, but Instagram-ing everything that crosses your path is a bit too excessive. Not everything is worthy of being Instagram-ed. For example, pictures of you with your best friends and your peace signs in the air are not acceptable. However, an Instagram of an exploding volcano or an exotic flower works. And, though overdone, an Instagram of your steaming latte would also work.

And think about it: do you really want every picture stored on your phone to be a filtered square? My advice for obsessive Instagram users would be to take the picture with your phone’s regular camera and upload that copy to Instagram. Like your Digital Photography teacher has probably said, “Save your original.”