Life Through Likes

Ava Hicks | Contributing Writer

The popular social media network known as Instagram has been gaining popularity in the cyber world since 2010. What began as a way to connect with friends and share photos of cheerful events and memories has evolved into what is almost a contest of appearance.

With 28 percent of internet users owning an Instagram account, it is safe to say that the social network has a notable influence within many people’s lives.

Instead of posting pictures that capture genuine emotions and happenings in their life, many Instagram users exclusively post posed photos that are deceiving from reality.

Their focus is not on sharing a joyful moment, but on earning the maximum number of likes. This is attained by extensive photo editing that alters the validity of an image and its contents.

While I am not criticizing the use of artificial aesthetics and creativity in photography, I am emphasizing the misleading expectations it can promote. One of Instagram’s latest features, an explore page, is full of flawless young adults going on impulsive adventures, sporting expensive designer brands, and flaunting their unblemished bodies. This is a prime example of how society promotes an unrealistic concept of beauty and daily life.

Constructing a feed full of photos where someone looks like a model and lives like an aristocrat may bring some users hordes of admiring followers, but it is ultimately falsifying their lives in the eyes of countless people.

The pictures that Insta-famous people share with the world can have a serious effect on those that are constantly scrolling through their feed, marveling at the seemingly perfect lives they live. Overexposure to these fabricated lifestyles can lead to feelings of inferiority and inadequacy in users whose photos do not receive thousands of likes from complete strangers.

By continuing to post misleading images of their physique and complexion, popular Instagram users are aiding the media in creating unrealistic expectations for members of our society.

A former Instagram user named Essena O’Neill quit the network last year after making a statement on her account about how the site was “contrived perfection made to get attention.” One day out of the blue, she edited the captions on her pictures, pointing out to her half a million followers how posed and fake the photos were.

Online, this young girl was presented as having a seemingly perfect body and ideal lifestyle in the eyes of thousands of people. Her sudden decision to rebuke Instagram and reveal the distortion of her account resulted in mixed responses from her followers. Some applauded her bravery in confessing to the misrepresentation of her posts, while others lashed out and called her fake.

Whether or not you agree with attacks made against social networks such as Instagram, there is no denying that there comes a certain pressure with each post to gain approval and admiration from your followers.

In addition to causing insecurity through photos focused on beauty, the representation of people’s daily lives on Instagram tends to differ from reality. Naturally, people are only going to post pictures of interesting and exciting happenings in their life. They aren’t going to share the mundane activities like binging on Netflix for hours – why would they? That would ruin the image of the superlative lifestyle they are trying to construct in the eyes of their followers.

When scrolling through the endless Instagram feed with absolutely no fun and exciting endeavors planned, witnessing this person’s apparently supreme lifestyle would be sure to make anyone feel inferior. Even though the poster of the photo most likely has their fair share of lazy and lonely days too, the representation of their life as told by Instagram makes it seem significantly different than reality.

While I am not demanding anyone to go on a strike against Instagram, I am proposing that young people change the way they view the social network. It is so important not to focus on creating a false image of yourself in order to gain the approval of other people. People should post whatever photos they like, whatever makes them happy and represents them honestly.

When pictures come up all over social media of other people having a blast and looking like they stepped out of a Calvin Klein ad, it shouldn’t make anyone feel any less beautiful and important. Life is so much more than the number of likes you get on a photo or how many followers you have.