Instagram: a platform for self-expression or self-hatred?
We live in a world that increasingly revolves around social media. Huge numbers of people worldwide are members of at least one out of the plethora of social media services. One site that has grown dramatically in recent years is Instagram: in June 2018 it reached one billion active users (twice as many as June 2016). Around 61% of the user base is accounted for by 18-34 year olds - the site is evidently skewed towards the younger generation. While Instagram is arguably an excellent opportunity for self-expression and innovation, it also has a dark side: to many, the online community encourages high levels of anxiety and depression.
In light of information collected by the Royal Society for Public Health, Instagram was ranked as the worst social media sight for causing anxiety in teens. It manages to captivate and control its users; it’s all too easy to spend unhealthy amounts of time scrolling, liking, commenting, hashtagging and editing. On a site that’s pretty much solely dedicated to photo sharing, many feel under great pressure to prove that they live an exciting and scintillating life. Users feel too they must present a body image that lives up to those of the many so-called ‘Instagram models’.
Needless to say, rarely is someone’s Instagram profile a true reflection of their life. It is merely a selection of hand-picked snapshots that give the impression of a perfect life. As a result, users, especially the younger generation, feel anxious and unhappy with the state of their own life as they compare it to the façades of others’. Over time, these feelings of self-inadequacy can be detrimental to mental health - and the responsibility for this rests in the powerful hands of a social media site.
An acronym becoming increasingly popular is ‘FOMO’, otherwise ‘fear of missing out’. It is now easier than ever for people to share their fun and exciting experiences online. As users share their (usually staged) upbeat and stimulating photos, viewers are left feeling as if they are missing out on certain areas of life. This can be on many different levels, from seeing a celebrity who seems to always be relaxing on a golden beach somewhere around the globe, sipping out of a coconut, to the friend who eats their pancakes and strawberries on a bed of roses every morning without the slightest hint of bed hair. Images like these can encourage what is known as a ‘compare and despair’ attitude. As people compete more and more for likes, comments and followers, images become progressively more staged and unrepresentative of their true lives and the effects of FOMO become worse.
FOMO, depression and anxiety are only a few of the harmful effects of Instagram. High stress levels and sleep deprivation are further examples of the dangerous consequences. However, the site is by no means a completely toxic platform - it can be a useful tool for those who reap the benefits of the self-expressive and creative nature to it. Nonetheless, is it very easy to be swept onto the Instagram bandwagon of false and unrealistic self-representation, which ultimately leads to a downward spiral of mental health.
The self-destructive attraction of Instagram represents a dangerous - yet growing - social media trend. People are drawn towards false depictions of others’ lives, even with the conscious knowledge that such portrayals are unlikely to be accurate, which commonly has harmful effects on their mental wellbeing. Instagram, and other major social media platforms, must start to acknowledge and combat this danger of the digital era.
Georgina Sharma, Year 12
In light of information collected by the Royal Society for Public Health, Instagram was ranked as the worst social media sight for causing anxiety in teens. It manages to captivate and control its users; it’s all too easy to spend unhealthy amounts of time scrolling, liking, commenting, hashtagging and editing. On a site that’s pretty much solely dedicated to photo sharing, many feel under great pressure to prove that they live an exciting and scintillating life. Users feel too they must present a body image that lives up to those of the many so-called ‘Instagram models’.
Needless to say, rarely is someone’s Instagram profile a true reflection of their life. It is merely a selection of hand-picked snapshots that give the impression of a perfect life. As a result, users, especially the younger generation, feel anxious and unhappy with the state of their own life as they compare it to the façades of others’. Over time, these feelings of self-inadequacy can be detrimental to mental health - and the responsibility for this rests in the powerful hands of a social media site.
An acronym becoming increasingly popular is ‘FOMO’, otherwise ‘fear of missing out’. It is now easier than ever for people to share their fun and exciting experiences online. As users share their (usually staged) upbeat and stimulating photos, viewers are left feeling as if they are missing out on certain areas of life. This can be on many different levels, from seeing a celebrity who seems to always be relaxing on a golden beach somewhere around the globe, sipping out of a coconut, to the friend who eats their pancakes and strawberries on a bed of roses every morning without the slightest hint of bed hair. Images like these can encourage what is known as a ‘compare and despair’ attitude. As people compete more and more for likes, comments and followers, images become progressively more staged and unrepresentative of their true lives and the effects of FOMO become worse.
FOMO, depression and anxiety are only a few of the harmful effects of Instagram. High stress levels and sleep deprivation are further examples of the dangerous consequences. However, the site is by no means a completely toxic platform - it can be a useful tool for those who reap the benefits of the self-expressive and creative nature to it. Nonetheless, is it very easy to be swept onto the Instagram bandwagon of false and unrealistic self-representation, which ultimately leads to a downward spiral of mental health.
The self-destructive attraction of Instagram represents a dangerous - yet growing - social media trend. People are drawn towards false depictions of others’ lives, even with the conscious knowledge that such portrayals are unlikely to be accurate, which commonly has harmful effects on their mental wellbeing. Instagram, and other major social media platforms, must start to acknowledge and combat this danger of the digital era.
Georgina Sharma, Year 12