Filter

I'm nerdy enough that I had to learn from my junior about Facebook some years after Mark Zuckerberg launched the social media. I have never installed this social networking app in my smartphone, with the hope that it can minimise addiction. I knew nothing about Tumblr or Snapchat. And until recently, I didn't quite understand the knack of using hashtag.

After my daughter asked for our permission to open an Instagram account last week, I decided to read about the story of Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger.

By the end of the first few chapters of the book No Filter, I have already got more idea how and why I made use of Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

For Instagram, I somehow craft it like a coffee table with magazines. Instead of inviting Instagram followers, I exclusively browsed photos of Lonely Planet, National Geographic, Runner's World and birds. That much is good. And this is the easiest way to enjoy photos of wildlife, kingfishers and leisure activities.

For Facebook, I use that as a gallery or diary with pictures of mine. Although posting photo on Facebook is more a hassle than using Instagram, the upside of this social media is the way it chronicles our memory like a diary.

For Twitter, I build my account to become a medical "knowledge tank". Following academic accounts such as that of the New England Journal of Medicine and the Infectious Diseases Society of America automatically helps me stay abreast of the most updated journal publication and conference materials.

I don't know if this system of categorising apps works for you, but this is perfect for a nerd like me.