Did you start this trend? I once went into an asylum and the very first room I went into had those same colorful balls all over the floor. It was like a decrepit ball pit.

The pictures were awesome until the graffiti started popping up. But its still really cool how you have kept track of what has happened!

This is a great compilation! Definitely a hot spot for cringe worthy "portraits". It reminds me of the room inside a different building on that campus that got destroyed by instagram idiots setting up shots with fake blood all over the entire room.

The fact that you have kept track of this is awesome. As far as the instagram generation conversation here, I feel in America this must be a bigger issue on the east and western sides of the country. I am from the age group that is usually associated with the "Instagram generation", but I just don't see many case out here in Iowa that places get so whored out by instagram. There are a few of us that do publically post images from time to time, but they're not like the blood and fire crap some of you are talking of!

Posted by EsseXploreR Haha this is classic. So many basic explorers out there these days. I used to get so excited when I would bump into others inside places. Now I don't even acknowledge them most of the time.

I like this description a lot lol "basic explorers"

This is incredible. The Discordianism is so real.

Posted by Steed Not knowing the place, is it really safe to be spraying burning sparks everywhere?

No.

This post should be pinned. As a reminder of how Instagram destroys things

Posted by EsseXploreR I used to get so excited when I would bump into others inside places. Now I don't even acknowledge them most of the time.

Yep Ive noticed this too. And others don't really acknowledge me anymore either. Its like The whole community used to be more united and like-minded than it is now.

Posted by randomesquephoto This post should be pinned. As a reminder of how Instagram destroys things

This is a long-standing element of group dynamics. Instagram is just another mechanism that affects in-group/out-group dynamics.

One could write a doctoral thesis in sociology about this sort of thing.

Nothing new.

Posted by Adv.Pack Yep Ive noticed this too. And others don't really acknowledge me anymore either. Its like The whole community used to be more united and like-minded than it is now.

You're 100% right. It's really crazy the difference in the community just in the last 10 or so years. I remember when most people I would meet had similar personalities and interests, even outside of exploring itself. Thats slowly changed. I'm just glad I've gotten to know as many cool people as I have before things got to be how they are now. Even if someone doesn't bug me themselves the company they keep makes me not want to associate with them most of the time.

Posted by EsseXploreR You're 100% right. It's really crazy the difference in the community just in the last 10 or so years. I remember when most people I would meet had similar personalities and interests, even outside of exploring itself. Thats slowly changed. I'm just glad I've gotten to know as many cool people as I have before things got to be how they are now. Even if someone doesn't bug me themselves the company they keep makes me not want to associate with them most of the time.

Couldn’t agree more

Posted by EsseXploreR You're 100% right. It's really crazy the difference in the community just in the last 10 or so years. I remember when most people I would meet had similar personalities and interests, even outside of exploring itself. Thats slowly changed. I'm just glad I've gotten to know as many cool people as I have before things got to be how they are now. Even if someone doesn't bug me themselves the company they keep makes me not want to associate with them most of the time.

That's what I was speaking to.

The dynamic of the in-group vs. out-group.

The in-group has grown so large that has blurred the boundaries between in-group and out-group and in some respects, the very identity of the in-group is no longer clear.

The Simpson's episode Flaming Moe's sort of addressed this phenomenon. The in-group is centered around a drink that was invented by Homer Simpson, but monetized by Moe Szyslak. The in-group is centered around Moe until Homer leaks the recipe and it is immediately copied on a large scale. That in-effect, destroyed the in-group in the same way that widespread publicity of UE has changed the entire dynamic of the UE in-group.

I've seen the same thing happen before in other in-groups and this too, shall pass.

It may take time.

I really like when Urbex meets art ! Sometimes on purpose, sometimes with luck. To my eyes, what you did is the beginning of a piece of art other people continued. That's really cool when you see the great photos people did, really boring when you see how it's now on Instagram. I really like Instagram , I'm using it myself for Urbex, but when I see how much it can affect a place, that's questionable.

Anyway, the original idea you made was really cool. and monitoring it over the years is absolutely cool.

What a neat thing to be able to keep tabs on and see how things change. All the graffiti's a real shame though.

All the photos with the animal masks are so goofy--maybe I should bring my horse mask with me the next time I go exploring or something.

I love this idea so much! Great job with the time-line!

I want to do something similar too. It's too bad Instagram has such a bad effect on these places. Man the amount of change is insane...

Really interesting log, thanks for sharing!

My 2 cents on the trendiness of urbex in Instagram/YouTube: People who post heavily on either are generally trying to build up a fan base in the hopes of monetizing it or just for general attention. The reason I don't get particularly heated about it is because I think it will fall out of popularity, probably sooner rather than later. They'll eventually find something else that gratifies them.

I post some stuff on Insta. My whopping 200ish followers are all family and friends (maybe a few bots). But I practice the same principles on there that I do on this forum. I don't tag locations, discuss entry points, or give away anything that would compromise the site, even if I think it's super well-known. I post photos that I think are artistic and would like to share with my friends and family. And I post them for the same reasons I post here, to start conversations and hopefully have others share with me.

It's unfortunate that these apps/sites can compromise locations. But I've never been able to control other people's behavior, only my own. I'd rather use my energy finding new places and improving the quality of my photography than being upset at people who don't do what I think they should do.

Posted by Tatz It's unfortunate that these apps/sites can compromise locations. But I've never been able to control other people's behavior, only my own. I'd rather use my energy finding new places and improving the quality of my photography than being upset at people who don't do what I think they should do.

I love this last paragraph. Well said and I couldn't agree more.

Posted by Radio2600 The dynamic of the in-group vs. out-group. The in-group has grown so large that has blurred the boundaries between in-group and out-group and in some respects, the very identity of the in-group is no longer clear.

I'd definitely agree with that. Thanks to the centralization on a few forums and small numbers, the internet allowed the urbex community to function like a small town for years. You can see the classic small town dynamics at work- the way we all know each other or at least have mutual acquaintances, the long standing grudges and friendships and relationships, the importance of a trustworthy reputation with forums functioning as town halls.

But the rise of Instagram was like a massive influx of outsiders from the big city into this small town. Nobody knows anybody and they arrive with a different set of values, ones especially geared towards consumption. They overharvest the local fishing hole, crowd the local bar, overflow the town hall and and trash the quiet chill spots.

Maybe they'll go back to the city or maybe they're here to stay and our town's been gentrified. It's hard to say which option is reality, but just like that allegorical small town we can't go back- only find a way to move forward without losing who we are.

I've seen a ton of these colored ball pictures all over Instagram. They definitely do make the pictures pop. It's nice to finally meet the originator ;) hahaha