Instagram vs Reality - Edie Porter

Instagram vs Reality

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Does social media reflect reality? The answer in most cases is NO.

The majority of people, especially Instagrammers with large followings, only post what they want you to see, or the ‘best bits’ of their life.

But didn't we already know that? The idea of portraying yourself on social media to have a perfect life has been around for almost as long as social media itself. With many big Instagrammers on the rise, it’s hard to not envy their outrageously cool lives, given the content being posted is inspiring and aspirational. However this ‘envy’ can be damaging to our self-esteem while wishing we had the same experiences or possessions as them.

If you have an Instagram account, you probably have come across Jay Alvarez and Alexis Ren, who are young American Instagrammers / models with a massive influence on the internet.

They collectively have 9.2 million followers on the site.

Their vibrant pages boast flash cars, beautiful beaches, skydiving snaps and cute couple photos in international destinations.

For Jay and Alexis, it’s great that they are privileged enough to live a luxury and adventurous lifestyle, and it's awesome that people are feeling inspired by their photos and videos.

Sometimes when these lavish posts appear on your feed, it can cause reflection on your own life and often jealousy. These photos draw in thousands of comments along the lines of “relationship goals” or “why is my life so boring” This is called instagram envy, and it’s starting to become a big problem of our generation.

Even though we hardly know anything about these people, we are comparing ourselves and our lives to theirs.

Although they do have incredible experiences and privileges, I’m certain not everyday of their life is that exciting. What we are not seeing is the arguments, the lost luggage, hangovers and so on.

Afterall they are only human, and everyone has their ups and downs but they choose not to showcase the ‘downs’

It’s also important to remember that Instagram is their JOB, they are models and they are making money off showcasing their experiences and their relationship.

ONLINE INAUTHENTICITY

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It is not only celebrities who are the culprits of online inauthenticity. Everyone does it, often subconsciously. New technology and apps are easily accessible allowing any of us to retouch or filter images.

It’s hard not to scroll through Instagram and feel suffocated with fabulousness.

One friend may be skiing in France with their family, someone else showing off their six pack with a mirror selfie and another friend showing off their fancy restaurant plate.   Followers on Instagram are expected to give the photo a heart shaped ‘like’. The number of likes you get on a photo is similar to a form of social validation.

The danger of Instagram is that it makes it very very easy to tell partial truths. Therefore allowing us to showcase our life in sugar coating.

BODY IMAGE

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Society’s idea of the ‘perfect body’ has dramatically changed since the rise of Instagram, and with all of the edited and curated content on the app many young women and girls’ self-esteem is affected. Last year, Instagram blogger Essena O’Neill, quit social media because it is “contrived perfection made to get attention”. Before deleting her Instagram account, Essena edited the captions of her older photos, to show what really goes on behind the ‘flawless’ photos.

“Only reason we went to the beach this morning was to shoot these bikinis because the company paid me and also I looked good to society’s current standards.” she wrote. It is refreshing to see someone with as much influence as Essena reveal how deceptive Instagram can be. The flawless body photos we see are often staged, photoshopped and one of hundreds taken to get the best angle.

Self-worth should not be validated by what others think, but instead within ourselves. Next time you’re scrolling through Instagram and feeling bad about your appearance, your life or your income remember

Self Esteem starts on the inside and radiates out.

In summary, acknowledging that social media is not real is the first step to disconnecting the online world with our real life expectations. Life is not about what you choose to showcase in the glossy online world, it comes from the real one full of tears, laughter, honesty and love.