Since its release in 2010, Instagram has become our preferred social media site for sharing multimedia content.
Instagram connects the world by allowing users to share all aspects of their lives. However, the rising popularity of the app has blurred the lines between the real and digital worlds.
Today, the excessive popularity of the social media platform has caused it to become manipulative and detrimental to mental health.
Right off the bat, users logging into the platform are flooded with content showcasing attractive people wearing expensive clothing, traveling the world and living a lavish lifestyle full of all kinds of eccentricities.
The message is clear—success equals perfection.
Frequent exposure to perfect moments influences users to replicate those types of posts on their own accounts. As a result, more Instagram users than ever are imitating the actions of influencers and other celebrities.
This is understandable given brands and influencers are essential elements Instagram uses to generate revenue. The more people follow a celebrity, the higher the possibility to make these people pay for items to imitate them.
While it’s not inherently bad to want to replicate some traits from famous people, Instagram subconsciously pushes us to spend money and time to receive social acceptance through likes and followers.
This can be catastrophic for the self-esteem of someone—which in reality is all of us—who has a reality different from what’s shown on social media.
In many instances, users who share content on the platform receive little to no recognition because Instagram doesn’t want to embrace the mundane aspects of our common everyday lives.
This can cause users to feel repressed, lessened and excluded as they believe their account and life by extension are irrelevant and unworthy of attention.
Instagram has yet to take responsibility for the social pressure it creates in our society’s mental health and well-being.
If something is free, it’s because you are the product. Instagram is no different in adhering to this tenet.
Seeking validation on a social media website that profits from us is a recipe for unhappiness. Hence, it’s important that we distinguish reality from the internet when we feel small in comparison to the fairy tale stories pushed on our daily feeds.
