A picture tells a thousand words, except when you have the help of a trusty Instagram filter. We take a look at the bigger picture.
Whether you’re an avid shutterbug or not, there’s no denying that we now live in a selfie-obsessed climate and, as a result, it’s essentially becoming harder and harder to find reality.
With more than 300 million active users on Instagram, who share on average 70 million photos a day, in the six years since its launch we’ve shared over four times more photos than there are human beings on earth. Yep, wow. Easy to consume, fun to design, Instagram is universal in language and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
Instagram has become a key source of communication – we can connect with friends and like-minded people on a whole new level and convey who we aspire to be and by whom we are inspired. Whether it’s learning new makeup tricks, watching workout guides, drooling over good food, indulging in boutique online shopping or soaking up some design inspo, Instagram has become an important and multifaceted tool in today’s popular culture.
While digital media has lots to commend itself, it has also inevitably changed the way we share our day-to-day life, likes and dislikes, what are we doing, eating, holidaying, etc. With its countless filters, story-making options and collages, the trend of visuals is essentially replacing text (the Egyptians were onto something). But the danger is that Instagram can also give a false perception of an often-unattainable life and a distorted image of what’s perceived as ‘normal’.
From high fashion-worthy images, carefully edited holiday pictures and selfies, sometimes it’s hard to know where reality begins and where it ends. Day-to-day life is all about framing a good shot – and filtering the life out of it before posting it to the world.
Everyone looks better on social media. And that’s the problem. The filtered life is inexplicably perfect and it has many people dangerously stuck in a virtual world of doubt and self-consciousness.
Jealous much?
While studies of Instagram’s effects on our emotional states are limited, studies of Facebook have shown that the passive consumption of our friends’ feeds and our own social media posts can correlate with feelings of loneliness and even depression.
In a joint research study conducted at the Technical University of Darmstadt and the Humboldt University of Berlin in Germany, led by Prof Peter Buxmann and Dr Hanna Krasnova, Facebook members were surveyed regarding their feelings after using the platform.
“You get more explicit and implicit cues of people being happy, rich and successful from a photo than from a status update,” says Dr Krasnova. “A photo can very powerfully provoke immediate social comparison, and that can trigger feelings of inferiority, [whereas] you don’t envy a news story.”
Krasnova’s research has led her to define what she calls an ‘envy spiral’. “If you see beautiful photos of your friend on Instagram,” she says, “one way to compensate is to self-present with even better photos, and then your friend sees your photos and posts even better photos, and so on. Self-promotion triggers more self-promotion, and the world on social media gets further and further from reality.”
While an envy spiral can unravel just as easily on Facebook or Twitter, Instagram is a test to your sense of time. In an article on Slate.com, Catalina Toma of the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US says, “You spend so much time creating flattering, idealised images of yourself, sorting through hundreds of images for that one perfect picture, but you don’t necessarily grasp that everybody else is spending a lot of time doing the same thing.”
The top Instagram profiles*
(after Instagram itself, of course!)
Selena Gomez – 118,008,587 followers
Ariana Grande – 103,736,489 followers
Taylor Swift – 101,121,131 followers
Beyonce – 100,126,833 followers
Kim Kardashian – 98,543,588 followers
* as at 21 April, 2017
After spending lots of time curating and filtering images, we spend even more time staring at other people’s carefully curated and filtered images, assuming they didn’t spend much time on them. And the more you do that, Toma says, “the more distorted your perception is that their lives are happier and more meaningful than yours.”
Social media & plastic surgery
According to the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery members, two of the top drivers for cosmetic procedures are the desire to remain competitive in the workforce and the impact of social media.
Forty-nine percent of surgeons reported patients wanting to stay relevant and vital at work.
In more recent times social media has become a huge instigator, with 42% of surgeons reporting patients seeking cosmetic procedures to look better in selfies, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook Live and other social channels.
The most requested procedures were tailored to specific lifestyle concerns. Eyelid procedures to look less tired were reported as a rising trend by 62 percent of members, as well as patients seeking cosmetic procedures due to dissatisfaction with their profile (49%) and patients requesting more prominent cheekbones (46%).
Keeping it in perspective
Photos and social media can be an amazing tool to help preserve memories and share aspects of our lives with the world. Not only can we share our lives with family and friends near and far but we can also connect with celebrities and those who inspire us on unprecedented levels.
Social media platforms like Instagram can essentially be seen as a form of escapism – everyone aspires to be a better version of themselves and Instagram is just putting it in front of us. Just take a look at the hashtag #goals.
What becomes important is keeping it in check and knowing that these pretty pictures don’t always portray reality. What makes us all beautiful is our uniqueness, so don’t try to be anyone else. You can aspire to be a better version of yourself, but be comfortable and confident in your own skin.
Don’t forget to switch off once in a while and experience life through your own eyes, not filtered ones.
3 ways to disconnect
Are you living life through a filter? Here are a few things you should try:
1. People watching
There is something wonderful about just quietly being somewhere and watching the world go by its business. Taste savour your food instead of snapping it; enjoy your surroundings instead of checking in.
2. Looking up
Ever walked in to oncoming foot
traffic? Or a telegraph pole? Don’t pretend you haven’t; we’re all guilty.
Put your phone away and go to the source. Look up and take in what’s going on in the world around you – it’s a pretty awesome place.
3. Unplugging
A tech curfew is a very credible thing. Not only will it give you a chance to sleep better but it will also give your over-screened eyes and brain a rest.
