Surprise Instagram Study! Shocking Results!

#Science

In just 2 Instagram posts, I inadvertently created a social experiment that gave a glimpse into my friends' minds. My initial intention was not to cross-examine my coop, but rather catch up on posting very important pictures to this social medium. I had 5 free minutes and 2 pictures needed to be filtered and shared: a selfie of my new hair cut and a Bloody Mary from Sunday's brunch. After posting, I enjoyed checking the "likes" and comments, but as I checked the notifications, I realized these little red hearts and words were revealing more about my friends than any of us realized. In The Hen's first exclusive (marginally) scientific study, I'll reveal my findings so you can also conduct a study of your own! (In lieu of donations and flowers, please share this revealing article with your friends!)

#EVERYTHING

#Sassy

This summer marks some monumental change for our country on the federal level. The news is filled with hot-buttoned issues, court decisions, and scandals. After eagerly waiting for weeks and months on decisions that affect many of our lives, we finally saw the change many us have wanted for years. Facebook has incorporated hashtags (#s).

Hashtags (#s) have transformed from something weird on Twitter to commonplace in social media. Did I lose you at the word, "hashtag?" If so, read The Cackling Hen's Guide to Twitter immediately. But while hashtag use is on its way to becoming commonplace, so is a nasty side effect: hashtag abuse and overuse.

#Selfie Overload!

It's been a busy few weeks of work and cackle block, but I'm back with a fresh peck at one nasty side effect of social media: self pictures, or "selfies." There was a healthier time when we all just hated pictures of ourselves, so what happened to that?

When I'm doing research on the internet and looking for Grumpy Cat memes, I don't want to see pictures of my "friends" in a bathroom mirror, acting natural - shirtless and making a duck face.  Facebook's name alone suggests I will see a lot of faces when I log on, but I miss the days of more faces with friends and less pouty, pensive faces alone in a dark room...or the car. That can't be safe at 70 miles per hour.