The Effects Instagram has on Self-Confidence

Chelsea Banco

Mass Communication Theory

Blog 1

March 7, 2016

How has Instagram Affected our Self-Confidence?

Social media plays a huge role into how we project ourselves as well as how we perceive ourselves. We base our happiness off of how many likes we get to our posts and how many followers we have. However, what version of ourselves are we putting out there? We have become programmed to put only the best version of our self out into the world. For example Instagram, we take a picture of us doing something very fun and then edit it to “perfection”. We then wait patiently to see how many likes we acquire over time. We post the “ideal version of ourselves” in hopes to be liked by the people that follow us. But this isn’t the real version of ourselves, it’s the fake version. In the article How Social Media Affects our Self-Perception by Kelsey Sunstrum, she talks a lot about a “smiling depression”. This is used to describe how people are depressed but do not appear to be in their social media world. “We are conditioned to project only our best, albeit unrealistic, selves on our social media profiles as a modern way of virtually keeping up with the Joneses” (Sunstrum, 1). In America today, 6.7 percent of the population over the age of 18 suffer from a form of major depression. Or in this case, putting only the half-truth onto social media and making it look like you are living a happy and healthy life. The amount of pressure being put on us to keep up with our unrealistic lives can get tiring and even overwhelming. “The pressure, with the right filter, wearing the right outfit, at the right place, with the right people was too much pressure” (Sunstrum, 1).

This is a very concerning topic and not one we should think lightly about. Fifteen years ago, this would not even be a thought in people’s minds. But with the rapid growth in technology, leading us to social media, more and more issues come with the change in times. This is why it is important to be able to see the signs before falling into societies media trap. This is why you need this handbook to help you look for the flaws in todays society and how to avoid it. The key topics you should be looking for are; the way that women are being portrayed through media in a vulgar and degrading sense, how Photoshop is used and if its real or fake, and social media’s way of creating a smiling depression. Staying away from all of this is tough when they are constantly surrounding us in newsstands, media on television, or on social media. Therefore, avoiding buying their products can help to reduce the negativity being spread. Avoiding buying products from companies that use false advertising and degrading pictures of women. By taking a look at your use of social media in hopes to start spreading natural beauty and creating a healthier version of you.

In todays day and age, how can we even tell if someone is posting a real picture vs enhanced picture? Natural beauty has almost become a thing of the past. This can be shown through Photoshop used in advertisements. This is a real world example based off of celebrities and how they dealt with Photoshop. New York Daily came out with an article where popular singer, Lorde, states, “flaws are ok” in response to a magazine that photo-shopped her face. “Apart from the fact that I’m pretty sure this magazine gave me a new nose”. She believes that real beauty is what is important and that it is all right to have flaws. The famous Beyonce and H&M battle is one that hit the media very strong. Beyonce did a campaign for H&M’s s2013 summer collection. H&M had the photos photo-shopped and Beyonce forced them to use the originals. Lady Gaga was given an award at Glamours 2013 Women of the Year Award where she spoke out about her dissatisfaction on a photo of her that was photo-shopped. “It is fair to write about the change in your magazines. But what I want to see is the change on your covers… when the cover change that’s when culture changes” according to the Huffington post.

Instagram has become a major part in today’s society. Some people don’t think this is a big deal or that it isn’t an issue that needs to be discussed however the use of social media and specifically Instagram is becoming more of a problem as time goes on.  Just a decade ago social media was just a fun pastime that people did when they had nothing else to do or if they wanted to stay in touch after school, but today it has evolved to a part of life. Today it will be hard to find a girl that doesn’t post at least one picture on Instagram per week and that is low compared to most users. People will stop and take pictures of almost anything from food to being at the gym. With food in mind, Instagram is not only effecting the users, but also restaurants. There are studies that show that before Instagram, people would be able to come into a restaurant, get an appetizer, order their food and then be out within a thirty to forty-five minute window. Thanks to social media, this window has almost doubled because people will now get to the restaurant, socialize and post to social media that they are eating out which slows down the decision making process for what food and drinks will be ordered. Once the food has been brought out, everyone then has to stop, take pictures of their food, post the picture on Instagram, and finally make sure that enough people like the photo or else it must be deleted.

            This brings me to another big issue that is starting to surface due to social media and specifically Instagram. Confidence in general is a huge focus area for teens and especially female teens. Social media and Instagram are also making it tougher for these teens to have confidence. While scrolling through Instagram, there are “Instagram Celebrities” which are people that are very photogenic and that get a lot of followers and likes on their pictures. They tend to be skinny and very good looking and icons to teens. This poses a huge problem in terms of how women are suppose to look and weigh. These models put pounds of make-up on and use technology in order to look the way they do which makes it virtually impossible to for “normal” teens to look like the “Instagram Celebrities” and in turn starts to diminish teens confidence and identity. Another big issue that is arising is that people in general are relying on how many likes they get per picture to feel good about themselves. If someone posts a picture and they get over one hundred likes, they will have a huge confidence boost. However, if they do not get many likes or if they do not get enough likes quick enough they will become upset or even delete the picture itself. Girls especially are getting so hung up on this fad that it is also affecting their relationships with their friends. If for example someone posts a picture and their friend doesn’t like it, they will get mad at their friend for something that shouldn’t be taken to heart as much as it is.

            All in all, social media has become a part of our everyday lives. This can be taken in a good and bad way but I can see this becoming a larger problem in the future. People need to stop focusing so heavily on posting the right insta with the right people in the right time and the right place. This constant need for attention will cause increased amounts of anxiety as well as self-doubt. Instagram is the fad for now, I can only imagine what will come next. But hopefully people will start to realize that “likes” mean nothing in the grand scheme of life.