Every morning our alarms go off and we pick up our phones to shut them off. After shutting off the alarms, we begin to check our missed texts/calls and look at our notifications from social networking sites. From the moment we wake up, our brains have been imprinted with the millions of images displayed on social networking sites. Keep in mind, this is only the morning. We will refresh social networking sites numerous more times throughout the day. Whether we realize it or not, the images seen on social media affect the way we think and feel. One social networking site that specifically has the power to influence our thoughts and feelings is the photo and video sharing app called Instagram. In 2010, Instagram hit the App Store and began to be used by billions of people. While it is fun to share the highlights of our lives on the Internet, Instagram has surpassed its initial goal of photo sharing. Now, people get paid to post Instagram photos and serve as advertisements. This commercial aspect combined with the constant viewing of photos of our peers has had an impact on many individuals’ body images—especially women. This impact is so great because when we are constantly looking at images of people regarded as “skinny,” “perfect” and “flawless,” it is almost impossible to not compare ourselves to them and question our own views of ourselves. We live in a society where almost every photograph we take is published on the Internet. Not only are these photos published, but they also have the ability to be “liked” by others and receive comments. This increased accessibility in critiquing others’ photos has led to many issues regarding self-acceptance. Instagram has aided in establishing a societal norm that women should have a certain physical appearance, but this “norm” is unachievable for most women and leads to inner conflicts of self-love.
Instagram’s capabilities are unique as it allows users to “follow” their friends and celebrities; while also manipulating their own profiles. However, in doing so, many users begin to become impacted by the social comparison theory. The social comparison theory is the idea that individuals have a natural drive to compare their own attributes to the attributes of others. Whether intentional or not, every time we look at another user’s post we automatically study it and compare ourselves to it. While some users might be impacted by the images of models and people who possess unachievable standards, others experience a higher impact from the ability to view posts made by our peers. It is understandable that when we view an image of a model we know that their level of perfection is out of our grasp; however, when looking at a photo of our peers, their physical appearance seems much more attainable as they are similar to us. This comparison causes many issues as it leads individuals to try and change themselves. What many people fail to recognize is that even though they are comparing themselves to their peers, they are still making unrealistic comparisons. As I mentioned before, individuals have the power to manipulate their own profiles. Thus, people only post the images they look their best in or images that they have edited. In doing so, comparisons are completely skewed as very few images are of what an individual truly looks like. If people took into account the reality of posts and photographs, there might be an increase in self-love and acceptance.
Another capability that Instagram possesses is liking and commenting on photos. These abilities have the power to promote self-love, but they also have the power to generate negative feedback. Sadly, it is human nature to remember the negative more than the positive. Thus, negative comments and a lack of likes on Instagram have a greater effect on an individual. Furthermore, most of the people commenting and liking the photos are an individual’s peers. It can be understood that when statements are being made by one’s peers that they will have a greater impact on an individual’s mindset about themselves. Ultimately, it is clear that Instagram is an outlet for negative body talk—a factor that can be detrimental to one’s sense of self love. When an individual receives negative words about their image from others, it is only natural that this will translate into negative body talk about themselves. Next time you go to make a comment, think about the chain reaction that might ensue if your comment is negative.
The last component of Instagram that is detrimental to one’s sense of self-love is the use of selfie-posting. Although selfie-posting is not specific to Instagram, its impact is still prevalent. The psychological rationale behind each selfie usually stems from a sense of confidence and body satisfaction. However, by posting a selfie into cyberspace an individual opens themselves up to Instagram-related conflict. Instagram-related conflict refers to jealousy and negative comments appearing on posts—all triggers for body dissatisfaction. Thus, while the origin of the selfie post comes from body satisfaction, it has the potential to turn into body dissatisfaction. While it is great to express self-love, it is important that Instagram users are aware of the potential consequences in doing so.
By no means am I saying to stop using Instagram; I am an avid user myself. However, it is essential that people are more aware when browsing social media sites. In a world where women are being criticized for their appearance constantly on the Internet, it is important that each woman establishes her own sense of self-love. If one establishes a strong sense of self-love, they will hopefully not be as impacted by the thoughts of others. The opinions of others are truly irrelevant as long as an individual is confident in themselves and happy. If you made it to this point and have read the whole article, I hope you know that you are beautiful and you are loved. Do not let anyone else tell you otherwise as each person’s individuality is what makes them special. Establish your own sense of self-love and conquer the world.
