Are Instagram Models Killing Us?

Instagram models are known for being pretty, having a small waist, big butt, big boobs and flawless skin. Although most of us know this is fake and the "perfect" body is an unattainable one, a lot of us still let this affect us. "It makes me feel kind of sad cos I think I could never be that beautiful." This was said in one of our survey results and reflects how a large population feels about the Instagram model community.


Instagram models want this! They want us to idolize them and make us think that we need to look like them, this is how they gain a following.

They (Instagram models) post on Instagram and get paid thousands of dollars for each photo. They get a lot of sponsorships and brand deals due to the fact that they have millions of followers that want to be them or look like them.

A lot of the time, most of what you see is FAKE! They overuse editing apps and face tune their bodies until they get their "perfect" bodies. They do this to present themselves as what they want to look like even if they are self-conscious of their bodies. Just remember that you can't always see this editing, although sometimes there may be a warped wall or a hand with six fingers. Don't always fall for the trick of Photoshop.



Instagram models aren't all morphing themselves into the "perfect" person. There are many positive models that embrace themselves and feel comfortable in their own skin without heavily editing every flaw. These body positive models encourage others to be happy and comfortable with their body and not making them feel as if they need to change.

We created this graph with the results from our survey that we gave to 50 teen girls. Their results showed us that the most followed Instagram model was Kylie Jenner with eight mentions and Kendall with four mentions. They are both known for having the "perfect body", either having curves and small waists or flat stomachs and being quite skinny. They are also known for using photoshop as many of their photos have photoshop fails eg Kylie has many pics where you can spot warped walls.

This is a graph that shows the feelings teenage girls get when they follow Instagram models. We had an expected result of nearly half of the girls having negative feelings. A few said "Sometimes it's like I wish I was them", "They set unreal expectations for teenage girls" and "I don't follow Instagram followers as it could impact my self esteem". We felt like the results would be like this due to all the Photoshopping and heavy editing. Some of the people who didn't mind said "Doesn't really affect me as it's their job", "They are just modelling and that's fine, I have nothing against them"



Our advice? Make sure you stay true to yourself and remember that you are perfect the way you are!