Instagram is a place where people can share their captured photos and videos and network with other users. The concept of Instagram allows people to share a glimpse of their lives and interests in hopes that their followers will give them positive feedback and commentary. Many people take put this to good use by showing their followers the actual them, with pictures of friends and family, what they do on a daily basis, their vacation trips, informing them on situations or to support a good cause, good news such as graduation or birthdays, or even bad news such as a death of a loved one. This is sincere and genuine and it shows that they are not afraid of letting others know who they truly are. On the other hand, there are some who post to please their followers and to do anything to gain likes and even more followers. These people take what the world sees as "cool" or "tough" and apply it to what they post. They become subject to the negative affects of social media by taking what others see reality as and portraying their pictures as such. This in-authenticity hurts them in a way that allows them to believe that their posts are genuine and will have them constantly checking their notifications and sadly being impressed and glorified by the amounts of likes and new followers they receive.
An Austrailian model and social media star Essena O'Neil, took a stand against social media recently by quitting Instagram and other social media accounts. She also deleted all of her 2,000 IG photos and only keeping 96 genuine photos and she explained why:
An Austrailian model and social media star Essena O'Neil, took a stand against social media recently by quitting Instagram and other social media accounts. She also deleted all of her 2,000 IG photos and only keeping 96 genuine photos and she explained why:
“Social media, especially how I used it, isn’t real. It’s contrived images and edited clips ranked against each other. It’s a system based on social approval, likes, validation, in views, success in followers. It’s perfectly orchestrated self-absorbed judgment" (The Lies of Instagram). | In her photo caption O'Neil says, "THERE IS NOTHING REAL ABOUT THIS." |
O'Neil said she did retakes multiple times until the point of getting mad because she couldn't get the "right" picture that would portray the "perfect" moment. She even had her younger sister take photos of her, who would also get frustrated about the multiple retakes. She wanted to leave this fake world that would falsely inspire her followers and enter into the "real world." She explained how she was even approached by a model who suggested they have an online relationship that would make both of them loads of money. Smh (shaking my head). Her decision to come forward and exposing what really happens behind the camera before an Instagram post inspired many other users to do the same and share their reality.
Posting for approval is so dangerous because it makes you believe that who you are and what you believe in doesn't really matter and that you can't stand up against what the world of social media believes is acceptable. This in turn, leads to many users being unhappy because they need this approval from followers in order for them to feel good about themselves. Even when they are unhappy, they feel the need to force a smile to capture themselves on a "good day" just to "do it for the gram" and gain likes, and in doing so, they create a false sense of happiness and satisfaction. This is so absurd because if they were to post a selfie of themselves looking nice because on the inside they know that they look good and they want others to see their internal sincere satisfaction, they wouldn't have to go searching for it from a mere double tap on a screen and a notification in a tab. This in-authentic activity is then damaging their view of self-esteem and self-actualization. They are searching somewhere else for their definition of who they are, instead of searching for it within. Instagram then defines the idea of authenticity being a fallacy, because it's supposed to be for capturing who you are and sharing it through photos and videos, but instead it's used for peer judgement and acceptance through a false reality.
Posting for approval is so dangerous because it makes you believe that who you are and what you believe in doesn't really matter and that you can't stand up against what the world of social media believes is acceptable. This in turn, leads to many users being unhappy because they need this approval from followers in order for them to feel good about themselves. Even when they are unhappy, they feel the need to force a smile to capture themselves on a "good day" just to "do it for the gram" and gain likes, and in doing so, they create a false sense of happiness and satisfaction. This is so absurd because if they were to post a selfie of themselves looking nice because on the inside they know that they look good and they want others to see their internal sincere satisfaction, they wouldn't have to go searching for it from a mere double tap on a screen and a notification in a tab. This in-authentic activity is then damaging their view of self-esteem and self-actualization. They are searching somewhere else for their definition of who they are, instead of searching for it within. Instagram then defines the idea of authenticity being a fallacy, because it's supposed to be for capturing who you are and sharing it through photos and videos, but instead it's used for peer judgement and acceptance through a false reality.