"Instagram is somewhat of a rabbit hole and like Alice, we willingly fall in. Lured by the easy entertainment we find ourselves losing pieces of time to the screen. "-Michaela pecot
I own a phone. It is an iPhone 5 that I keep in a cushioned case to protect it from breaking. If it broke I would be without a device that keeps me, in a sense, relevant. This is because phones these days, smartphones to be specific, are not just for calling and texting. Beyond communication, these devices function as electric rectangles of entertainment. They provide a type of brain stimulation that is consuming, in a way satisfying, and requires very little effort on behalf of the user.
The presence of social media has expanded in our rapidly growing tech world. There are certainly places around the world where people don’t have access to cellphones or smartphones. However, in places where access is common, social media is also common. There are about 2.13 billion people worldwide using different applications and sites. One of these sites is Instagram, which has its own fair portion of social media users, about 400 million as of 2015.

Users of Instagram feel different ways about the site and it’s purpose. One senior at OSA said ¨Instagram makes me feel pathetic and sad. The purpose is to lose yourself, identity, self worth in comparing your life to others. If people like you on Instagram, you’re a valid person¨ Another identified the purpose as being ¨a place where you submit an aesthetic and display of yourself and life for approval, appreciation, or lack of. But it's also about viewing other people's displays to be entertained.¨ And about Instagram and beauty standards:
“I see a lot of that slim thick kind of thing. Girls that are following Kylie Jenner are trying to increase their boobs and ass but keep their waist skinny and using a bunch of enhancements to do that. There's definitely a mixed-race thing people are going for also. You have to fit in with your body, but stand out with your face. You have to be different in a certain kind of way. It’s dumb and I hate it.”
Even regular users of Instagram quickly identify its flaws when asked to. We can point out that it's dumb and we hate it and still post a picture of ourselves and friends looking cool by the lake on a friday night. This is because Instagram is somewhat of a rabbit hole and like Alice, we willingly fall in. Lured by the easy entertainment we find ourselves losing pieces of time to the screen. Rewarded by each ‘like’ we receive, we post another picture.
In theory the idea of the app seems brilliant and in many ways it is. It helps to connect people that otherwise wouldn’t be able to. But it also eliminates that need to make face to face human connections and in lieu of that satisfaction another type of approval is sought out. This approval is characterized by the number of “followers” vs. “following” one has, wanting the former to be greater. Approval comes from the amounts of likes received on a picture, views received on a video, comments of admiration. For younger people having grown up coexisting with technology, Instagram notably has an adverse effect on the way we form emotional connections and dependency.
In theory the idea of the app seems brilliant and in many ways it is. It helps to connect people that otherwise wouldn’t be able to. But it also eliminates that need to make face to face human connections and in lieu of that satisfaction another type of approval is sought out. This approval is characterized by the number of “followers” vs. “following” one has, wanting the former to be greater. Approval comes from the amounts of likes received on a picture, views received on a video, comments of admiration. For younger people having grown up coexisting with technology, Instagram notably has an adverse effect on the way we form emotional connections and dependency.

It makes sense that it does, given the amount of time and space social media takes up in our lives. Even individuals who use the app less, like myself, note its effects on my own self-esteem. It takes a toll on a person to be projected with images of women, attractive because they have the key characteristics of beauty promoted by the thousands of pictures of other women with thousands of likes.
If one does not have those characteristics, they feel as if their appearance has not received approval. We are social creatures and what other people perceive of us inevitably matters when we are building our self-esteem. Young people, women especially, start defining their own sense of self worth, whether it be in their appearance or projected aesthetic, when they are in their adolescence and into their mid-twenties. Phones are now such a prominent part of our lives. They take up so much time and mental energy that it seems inevitable part of our identity would be formed through technology.
An article on Psychology Today’s website dives into this topic, stating “it isn't difficult to see how external forces may now be gaining a disproportionate influence over our self-identities compared to previous generations. And these social influences, accelerated by the recent explosion of technology, may be shaping our self-identities in ways in which most of us aren't the least bit aware.”
If one does not have those characteristics, they feel as if their appearance has not received approval. We are social creatures and what other people perceive of us inevitably matters when we are building our self-esteem. Young people, women especially, start defining their own sense of self worth, whether it be in their appearance or projected aesthetic, when they are in their adolescence and into their mid-twenties. Phones are now such a prominent part of our lives. They take up so much time and mental energy that it seems inevitable part of our identity would be formed through technology.
An article on Psychology Today’s website dives into this topic, stating “it isn't difficult to see how external forces may now be gaining a disproportionate influence over our self-identities compared to previous generations. And these social influences, accelerated by the recent explosion of technology, may be shaping our self-identities in ways in which most of us aren't the least bit aware.”
Firm boobs, small waist, extremely large thighs and butt: all examples of beauty standards promoted by Instagram today. There is even a trend called the “thigh-brow” coined by Kylie Jenner along with other celebrities and admirers of these individuals. It is when the crease in one's upper thigh is visible when they bend their legs or sit cross-legged. According to Elle Magazine, it could be replacing the ¨thigh-gap¨, when one’s thighs have an oval-like space in between. This was a trend that was popular not too long ago and still is in some internet subcultures where supermodel-like bodies are considered ideal. But thigh-gaps have lost steam, as do all trends eventually.
Photos capturing images of the ideal body are not the only trends being advertised through social media. Kylie Jenner promotes other products, like breast and butt enhancement lotions—and young women buy into it. It seems to be an increasingly intricate market that makes its profit off of the degradation of women’s self esteem.

As a result, young women learn to want an appearance that is not realistic. Their bodily role models are internet figures of beauty and sexuality that have most likely modified their image to appear in such a way. As a result of this, young women influenced by the internet want to project to the world an image that is in some way manipulated. Whether they do this through edited pictures, cosmetics, enhancement creams, waist trainers, or any of the other ways women can alter their body, they feed into the cycle of degrading women’s self esteem.
This might not be the purpose of social media, Instagram in particular, but it is most definitely a side effect. It is an especially easy cycle to fall into because there is very little warning or research about the true effects of social media. This is partly because it is such a young invention, but also because it is readily accepted as a device we can use at our free will. Our obsessive use is a habit and habits are difficult to break, especially if the damage is not immediately obvious. But now that I, along with many others, are aware that we are being brainwashed by Instagram, what are we going to do about it?
This might not be the purpose of social media, Instagram in particular, but it is most definitely a side effect. It is an especially easy cycle to fall into because there is very little warning or research about the true effects of social media. This is partly because it is such a young invention, but also because it is readily accepted as a device we can use at our free will. Our obsessive use is a habit and habits are difficult to break, especially if the damage is not immediately obvious. But now that I, along with many others, are aware that we are being brainwashed by Instagram, what are we going to do about it?