Instagram is one of the largest and fastest growing social media sites in the world. According to techcrunch.com, “Instagram is growing the fastest of all social media sites worldwide, increasing its active user base by 23% in the last six months.” As you can see Instagram popularity is only rising. According to a study in Forbes, “The survey was given to 7,200 teenagers across 41 states that live in homes with an average income of $59,000. The participants were 47% female and 53% male. Instagram was voted as the favorite social media network.” With this massive growth we must ask ourselves if Instagram is a positive addition to our culture. The answer is no, Instagram lowers happiness, Creates a culture of sexualization of young women, and attacks the individual ego. Instagram is not a positive addition to the globalizing world.
The first issue that Instagram causes is lowering happiness. According to an article in Slate, “The three things that correlate most strongly with a self-loathing screen hangover are basically the three things that Instagram is currently for: loitering around others’ photos, perfunctory like-ing, and ‘broadcasting’ to a relatively amorphous group.” What we can see is that the main functions of Instagram are the main functions of lowering happiness. “A photo can very powerfully provoke immediate social comparison, and that can trigger feelings of inferiority. ” says Hanna Krasnova of Humboldt University Berlin. What we are seeing is that users of
Social media tricks people to believe others are living a ravisher life than they really are. They post only the highlights of their lives, and never the negative. It makes others view them falsely and more presentable than they actually are, which makes those viewing their profiles feel less satisfied with themselves and their lives. There are even some people who drop all social media because of how terrible it makes them feel, but there are also others who thrive for the attention of social media and go through ridiculous tasks in order to take the perfect picture. There have been many disputes over how social media websites such as Instagram or Facebook affects ones self-esteem, it can knock them down.
A photograph, painting, canvas, or drawing today is not the same as it was a decade ago. Technology has evolved to the point where we can photoshop a person into a picture, enlarge a person’s butt, or even whiten people’s teeth. At what point do those technological advances cross a line? With social media ranging from Facebook and Twitter to Instagram and Tumblr, do these media sites promote egotistical behavior? In January of 2013, John Paul Titlow discusses some of the disadvantages and advantages that Instagram has in his essay: “#Me: Instagram Narcissism and the Scourge of the Selfie” that was posted on a website called ReadWrite. Although Instagram was primarily created to simply share pictures, it has evolved to do much more than that. Some businesses use it to advertise, some people use it to share their art, but then there are some people use it to flaunt their own personal lives in the form of pictures. Titlow acknowledges that Instagram is a desirable way to share art and diverse imagery, but additionally acknowledges that it can be a place where one can promote their own self-popularity. He explains that Instagram has become remarkably important in people’s lives to the point that they cannot view life past those Instagram likes (Titlow). Ultimately, Titlow succeeds in emphasizing the issues that Instagram has created by reason of the way he expresses his text, while furthermore expressing who the audience of his essay is, and by making his overall purpose clear.
Hundreds of new apps are created every day. On October 6th in 2010 a new social media epidemic was invented, Instagram was the new fad for the younger generation. Similarly, within three months Instagram hit one million views, but it didn’t stop there in under a year Instagram had over 10 million users. In contrast, Instagram was the new and improved Facebook for the younger generation. Facebook was favorable for posting statuses and sharing photos, snapchat is exceptional for sharing quick photos with your friends, but "Instagram has become the place to share moments we want to remember," (Read). Furthermore, the app was released on the app store and downloaded to thousands of teenage girl's pockets within days. What more does a teenage girl desire than to feel "liked" by her peers. So, what is the relationship between causality and technology, is it Technological determinism, when Technology has all the power, or Social Construction of Technology, people have power over the social media play a more crucial role in the participation of Instagram?
Social media: a blessing or a burden? It gives the ability to like, comment and interact with any person at any time. A platform with recent growth and popularity, Instagram, reaches copious amounts people. Expectedly so, controversy has arisen from the decade of social media and this form in particular. Research has found Instagram to have the highest overall negative effect on mental health (Cramer & Inkster, 2017). Through analyzing human psyche and critiquing data, this paper will seek to explain the negative mental health outcomes resulting from the use of Instagram.
Social media can also lead to an unrealistic idea of life. Many people like to show off on social media, for example, showing off money or a new expensive car. When it comes to unrealistic ideas of living it could make people feel envious and jealous. Some people can become obsessed with taking selfies or overly “perfect” pictures, whether it be editing out imperfections or spending an hour trying to get the perfect picture. People can get anxiety from the fear of missing out. When people post about going put every weekend or about how perfect” their lives are, it can make people feel depressed. It can also show unrealistic body standards and lead to eating disorders. A website called National Eating Disorders (2016) has said, “Numerous correlational and experimental studies have linked exposure to the thin ideal in mass media to body dissatisfaction, internalization of the thin ideal, and disordered eating among women”. For example, the social media website
The structure of Instagram begs for you to make lasting impressions of your values and display the heart and soul of your company. Using motivational or inspiring content is also encouraged to attract Instagram users. The majority of users on Instagram are teens and young adults, your next consumer base. While the older generations will stay loyal to Facebook, many of the younger generations are flocking to Instagram and staying there.
it of envy and depression. It begins explaining how Facebook works and how some options in it can affect our society in a negative way, but end the introduction saying that is up to us the purpose for which we use Facebook, but the main purpose of the author in this article refers to Instagram, which the author thinks is worst than Facebook because it only gathers the bad aspects about Facebook which the author says are “loitering around others’ photos, perfunctory like-ing, and “broadcasting” to a relatively amorphous group” an example will be that the photos on Instagram promote self-promote because when people look at one beautiful picture one way
Social media's main purpose is to connect with others and socialize in a spectacular, and modern way online. According to ¨the upside of selfies: social media isn't all bad for kids” by Kelly Wallace (CNN), Wallace interviews Eileen Masio, a mother of two in New York that are big users of instagram; social media. In the interview Masio states,” ‘i think as damaging as social media could be, it can… help to build self confidence,too,’ ” Masio also reveals an example of how social media builds self confidence,” ‘when they post selfies, all the comments I usually see are ‘Your beautiful,’ ‘You’re so pretty,’ oh my god gorgeous,’” evidently, this shows that social media doesn't just help connect people, but can also help build confidence to those who might need some, or think that they are less than what they are.
Therefore, there are three main solutions suggested to decrease the effect of Instagram that lower teenagers’ self-esteem is teenagers should try to refresh or change their appearances the way they like, find the true passion that gives them motivation and is satisfied in what they deserve in present
Curated images, calculated presentation, epidemic feelings of inadequacy and rampant self-esteem issues all characterize today’s social media culture. Extensive research now supports the detrimental effect that social media has on relationships, mental health, and overall well-being. Kelly Austin, a contributor with Teen Shield, cites the benefits of social media – claiming increased interconnectivity and confidence building. While I agree with some of the points she proposes, I support that social media in fact has a net negative effect on its users. I aim to first shed light on her article and the issues that she fails to address, then transition to how we can all move forward with social media in a beneficial way.
The effects that social media outlets such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram have on their viewers are widely varied, but in my opinion the most impactful message that viewers take away from their social media use is the proposed definition of what is “beautiful”. People are highly moldable beings who soak up what they are surrounded by, so it makes sense that a message implying that they can “improve” themselves by losing weight, applying makeup, or focusing more on what they wear would have such a direct impact on the way they view themselves as a whole. Studies have shown that frequent users of social
There are various factors that must be considered when analyzing Instagram’s business model and these must be discussed while outlining viable strategies
One-way social media can be harmful to our mental health is that it often can lead to comparison and jealousy. An example of jealousy when using social media would be a group of friends who decided to hang out and left one friend out; the group of friends post about how much fun they had and the girl who was left alone ultimately ends up jealous. An example of comparison would be an overweight or an average sized girl scrolling through her Instagram timeline when she sees a picture of a super skinny girl, this could lead to the girl scrolling to compare herself negatively to the skinny girl. Comparison is a normal human response; most people compare themselves to others daily (Tanney). Most
Instagram impacts user’s self-image and self-esteem. Young girls and boys are being shot down by users not liking their image, commenting, or even sharing one’s post. Americans check Instagram multiple times a day, because they are looking to see how many likes, or comments they get. If these users’ do not get a certain amount of likes that exceeds their expectations they think, “I’m I pretty enough?”, “is the picture taken well?”, or “does anyone like me?”. This breaks down young Americans emotional health and well-being. Americans today that use Instagram are commenting publicly about how their self-esteem was jeopardized because of this form of social media. For example, Michelle Linker states “I feel anxiety over how many likes I get after I post a picture. If I get two likes, I feel like, what’s wrong with me? Some people judge Instagram by deleting photos that don’t get enough likes” (Gajanan). This quote is an example of how Instagram effects user’s emotionally. Some users even check their “like” count multiple times a day once uploaded for
In this age of social media, we are constantly worried about being popular. We are driven by “likes,” “comments,” and “followers.” Not caring what our peers thought, our middle school selves posted anything and everything. Now, as seniors and having had access to social media for an abundance of years, we are far more cautious about what we post but not in the way you might imagine. Instagram is a resourceful tool but, if used incorrectly, could impair your social status.