Instagram Envy
Social Media surrounds all of us in a day to day life. Whether you take part in using social media, or if you just hear about it, it is always around us. To a lot of people, social media is just a pass-time, and to others it is a platform to show off their life. While looking through social media, people may think, Why don’t I look like that? How are they always on vacation? Why do they always get to go to parties? Many people take the positives in their lives for granted when we see what others are doing. Platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram are
taking over people's lives.
These unreasonable amounts of editing don’t teach the young teens using this app anything, it actually gets them thinking why they don't look like that. With your traditional Instagram icons such as the Kardashian-Jenners, editing their pictures and getting plastic surgery, then still being idolized, it is not something teenagers should compare themselves to. Everyone needs to learn to be comfortable in their own body, and these issues aren’t helping.
With the constant thought of who has more followers and likes on their picture, people's digital social status follows people around everywhere. The follower and like count, trailing behind you in your everyday life. Maybe a notification appears on someone's phone, when checking the notification, people are so excited to see who liked their post, and who followed them. The idea of someone having more followers than you may take over your mind and you may start to wonder if you are less than someone else. Perhaps a girl at school has a thousand followers, you may feel belittled. This may lead to everyone else's status dictating your life.
With all of these negative effects, I wonder why these platforms are still in use. All of the mental damage they are doing to young teenagers is not beneficial at the end of the day. I can’t say anything however, because I, myself, am a user. I use all these social media sites, but remind myself that many of the images or videos are edited. Many of your favorite influencers edit the embarrassing parts of their videos, and don’t post the pictures where they don’t look their absolute best. I try to not let the negative effects get to me, because at the end of the day, it’s just a platform. We must remember that social media is not real life. Make sure to continue to not let the “Instagram envy” get to you.
-Annika Deschler
Sources Cited
Abrams, Zara. "How Can We Minimize Instagram's Harmful Effects?" American Psychology Association, 2 Dec. 2021, www.apa.org/monitor/2022/03/feature-minimize-instagram-effects.
Adobe Express. "The Eight Top Social Media Sites You Should Prioritize in 2022." Adobe Express, 10 Aug. 22022, www.adobe.com/express/learn/blog/top-social-media-sites.
Gonchar, Michael. "Over 1,000 Writing Prompts for Students." The New York Times, 12 Apr. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/04/12/learning/over-1000-writing-prompts-for-students.html.
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ReplyDeleteI actually wrote an essay on this in seventh grade, but about the entirety of social media. I very much agree with the point you are making about the effect of social media on self-esteem and conscious about your looks. I like the point of view you are presenting: a conscious user that knows their limits, and you are both bringing awareness and being an example. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI agree that social media is bad for a lot of teen's mental well being. I enjoy how specific you are with why its affecting teens and how you add your own experiences into the mix. I am not an avid social media poster but I do admit that I do browse Tiktok quite frequently. I noticed when I first started watching Tiktoks I was obsessed. I would watch them for hours on end. This led to loss in sleep and just over put me in a not so good mental state. When I took time away to do hobbies I enjoy, spend time with family or even decide to go to bed early, it affected my mood greatly. You explain it very well.
ReplyDeleteI like how you really try to be on the same page with the reader. Providing relatable questions, giving your own experiences, it expresses the issue very well! The conclusion with your title being used is a nice cherry on top.
ReplyDeleteI liked how blog post focuses on how social media and how it affected teenagers. A lot of the time people show only what the want to show. When everyone looks at each other on social media, they only get the good parts making them feel jealous and low self-esteemed.
ReplyDeleteI like how you describe the feeling of Instagram envy and even go as far as saying what someone's thoughts might be when seeing someone with a "perfect life" on social media. Overall, I feel this is put together very well and it's also relatable.
ReplyDeleteI like how you should that what you see on social media isn't true and that people like teens are affected a lot on what they see through instagram.
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