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Waste your time like you mean it by following the best Instagram accounts

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In 2012, Facebook purchased Instagram, then a promising photo-sharing app, for a cool $1 billion dollars. In just a few years the app had swelled to more than 700 million users and a value of approximately $50 billion — talk about return on investment! Based on data recently released by the photo-sharing app, individuals somehow manage to spend nearly 30 minutes a day perusing Instagram. While this time could be presumably spent doing something more productive, the app certainly does have its merits. In fact, based on the inherent photographic documentation and location data, a team of researchers with Cornell University recently claimed Instagram could be a useful anthropological tool.

While this may be true, the majority of us simply use to the platform in search of the dankest memes, cat photos, and epic fails. Nonetheless, with each post, share, and elusive like, we are still technically doing our part to make sure this truly wonderful chapter in our species’ devolution is properly indexed. That said, from mouthwatering #foodporn posts to the Internet-famous pets of the Instaverse, here are the best Instagram accounts to help you more aptly waste your own time … in the name of science, of course.

Food

Unless you’re sadly part of the Soylent movement, most of us can appreciate a good nom. That said, with more than 130 million #foodporn posts, foodie culture is alive and well on Instagram. From Aziz Ansari‘s tour de tastes and Lorde’s purported secret onion ring review account, to the delightfully straightforward Hot Girls Eating Pizza, there are plenty of options to choose from.

Tasting Table

While Tasting Table may not be the choicest option for foodies with dietary restrictions, the red-blooded omnivorous among us will drool over the peanut-doused African chicken, grilled cheese donuts, and eggs Benedict hosed in hollandaise. Hell, sometimes, you’re just in the mood for a damn plate o’ bacon. Don’t worry, Tasting Table has you covered there, too.

Food Baby NY

Food Baby NY works with a rather basic albeit wonderful premise: Glamour shots of the choicest food in New York City alongside a cute baby. Go ahead and follow and watch Food Baby take a bite out of the Big Apple one nom at a time. While most of us were probably gargling down stringed something or others when we were Food Baby’s age, she conversely seemingly spends most of her time harming kimchees waffle fries, cavatelli, and vanilla custard doughnuts like there’s no tomorrow. Food Baby is all of us, all of the time. Never grow up, Food Baby.

Food with Michel

Food Envy is very real and Michel will make you feel a certain way with his brimming buckets of chicken and waffles, mac and cheese bread bowls, and smoldering hunks of sauced meats. Go on with your bad self, Michel, but please keep posting.

Vegan Fat Kid

We haven’t forgotten about those who are vegan, and Vegan Fat Kid is one of the more popular #foodporn Instagram feeds out there. Witness some of the best food stories, bomb tostadas, awe-worthy gansitos as VFK eats through Los Angeles.

Pets

Sprout

Sprout may not boast as many followers as some of the top dogs of Instagram, but this haughty hound is our pick of the litter. Truth be told, this stylish pup may actually be better dressed than the vast majority of our friends. This feed gives followers an envy-worthy glimpse into a day in the life of Sprout as he quaffs rosé in West Village and even hosts a meet-and-greet for loyal fans. What a guy. And to think, Sprouts ancestors were wolves.

Doug the Pug

Doug the Pug is everything we were looking for in an Instagram feed: Anthropomorphization, genuine bliss, and never-ending jowls. Dougie Fresh is a connoisseur of fine foods, traditional dance, and knitted sweaters. Welcome to the good life, little guy.

Spike the Beetle

Spike the Beetle has amassed quite the cult following on Twitter and Instagram over the past few months. The pint-sized past master has quite the penchant for Pollock-esque original marker on canvas artwork (as well as hosting ornate tea parties with other perspicacious beetles). His first piece was auctioned earlier this year and fetched nearly $1,600 on eBay. His next piece will be sold in the coming months with 20 percent of the proceeds going to People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES).

Grumpy Cat

All loaded statements aside: For whatever reason, some folks like cats and all of the baggage that comes with them. Nonetheless, even the most vehement dog people would gladly stalk the Official Grumpy Cat page. Follow and witness this frowning feline take the world by storm. Despite the rather obvious Friskies sponsorship and less-than-stealthy product placement, Grumpy Cat is easily the only cat that matters.

Pumpkin The Racoon

Many people think of racoons as garbage-loving pests, but leave it to this adorable animal named Pumpkin to change your mind. A rescued Bahamian pet who lives with a couple of dog pals, Pumpkin looks as friendly as she is fluffy. Big fans will be happy to know that the raccoon even has a book!

Travel

National Geographic

It would be rather curious to compile a list of the best travel photography on the internet and not mention one of the most prominent magazines in the industry. For nearly 130 years, the National Geographic Society has been exploring, protecting, and documenting the farthest reaches of planet Earth. Follow this page for regular glimpses of photojournalism at its finest.

Pacific Northwest Wonderland

We aren’t saying that we’re a little spoiled out here in the scenic Pacific Northwest, but, well, we are. From glimpses of Crater Lake, sprawling tulip fields, and the beautifully topless Mount St. Helens, Pacific Northwest Wonderland brings you all of the sights (and sometimes sounds) from these parts of the country.

U.S. Interior

Virtually all of America’s National Parks have their own Instagram pages and we suggest blowing up your feed with as many of those as you can muster. However, the U.S. Department of the Interior account sifts through all of these individual pages and then reposts the best of the best on their behalf.

Beautiful Destinations

Beautiful Destinations is one of the most followed photography feeds out there. The Instagram account posts original as well as submitted photos from ‘Grammers around the globe. Plan your next road trip stateside and/or abroad with these terrestrial dreamscapes.

Wilderness Culture

A collaborative account with contributors from around the world, Wilderness Culture is designed to re-ignite your love of the outdoors with gorgeous daily shots from every beautiful place on Earth. And it works!

Architecture

Johfot

Johfot is the Instagram page of Swedish architect and engineer, Johan Tägtström. Loaded with often dizzying skyscraper snapshots, this feed is brimming with some of the sleekest modern architectural design from the Land of the Midnight Sun and elsewhere.

Cabin Porn

While Henry David Thoreau may have famously went to his cabin on Walden Pond to live deliberately, you can peruse the badass digs on Cabin Porn and live vicariously.

Somewhere I’d Like to Live

Somewhere I’d Like to Live is just that. This account posts user-submitted images as well as vintage photos from design magazines bringing a world of bodacious abodes straight to your feed.

The Concrete Project

Those who think of concrete as cold and unappealing will have their minds changed with this cutting-edge architectural feed, which showcases the hard stone form in new, creative, and gorgeous ways.

Interior Design

Architectural Digest

It would be nearly impossible to curate a list of architectural design without mentioning one of the heavyweights in the field.  The self-proclaimed “International Design Authority” has been documenting the chicest interior and architecture design for nearly 100 years. This page posts throwback as well as new photos and illustrations from the magazine’s eight international editions.

Vincent Darré

French interior architect Vincent Darré posts regularly, showcasing his unique modern Baroque creations as well as other designers (both past and present).

Studio Shamshiri

Studio Shamshiri is a Los Angeles-based design firm and the official Instagram feed features design heavyweights like Philip Dixon, Alexander Calder, Ricardo Bofill as well as the studio’s unique creations.

Great Art in Ugly Rooms

Great Art in Ugly Rooms — exactly what it sounds like — exists as more of an antithesis of interior design. Not everyone has a knack for feng shui and this account certainly attests to that.

When it comes to boosting your own profile, we’ve compiled some helpful Instagram tips and tricks, easy ways to get your followers up, and even the time of day you should be posting to get the most ever-so-elusive likes.

Editors' Recommendations

Parker Hall
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Parker Hall is a writer and musician from Portland, OR. He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin…
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