Like many addicts I have been busily snapping away at almost most anything of interest or even things of no interest at all.

From shooting cute snaps of the family to taking highfaluting images of the seat covers on the bus, or moody reportage shots of chewing gum on the pavement, my iphone is nearly full of them. Why? Well like the 7 million other users Instagram addictiveness is probably down to a couple of things. One is its ease of use and the other it is social.

You can either select an existing photo from your camera roll or shoot a picture from Instagram itself. Once a shot is selected you have a choice of 16 filters to add effects to your shot. Some effects give a Polaroid style like 1977; others give a black and white graphic style effect like Gotham. Others randomly enhance the colours like Lomo-fi – which is my favourite.

You can also add in a ‘tilt shift’ effect that works really well with subjects shot from a height that makes everything look in miniature.

Once you’ve finished being all Robert Mapplethorpe, you can then share it with your friends via Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Posterous. You can also connect to Foursquare and it will allow you to geotag your shot and check in at the same time.

Some of the functionality is a bit clunky. More effect filters like a pop art effect or a mosaic effect would be a great addition. Better cropping, zooming and rotating tools would also be useful. For some reason rather than keeping the resolution of the phones camera it reduces it. I’m sure many users would like to print their shots, the quality at the moment isn’t really up to scratch.

On the up side, up 150 million shots have been upload to Instagram so far. Even a few celebs have got in on the act, Justin Biebre, Jamie Oliver, Snoop Dog and Rosie O’Donnell. There is a even Flickr group devoted to it with over 4 thousand members.

There is a daily photo competition. Anyone can enter by posting the #instadaily with their shot. Other ‘Gramers’ can then vote on who they think has the best shot of the day. There are no prizes, but plenty of kudos.

If you experiencing Instagram cold turkey you can always download a cool screensaver from Screenstagram for you computer (Mac only I’m afraid) and you can watch your follower’s shots all sliding around on the screen together.