Instagram has taken over the entire framework of how we view the world. You can look at people’s stories and configure how they look at the world, but being this connected to people’s realities is having a negative side effect on how many people view themselves in this social media age.
For teenage girls, there is nothing worse than Instagram and how it allows you to modify your features. Body dysmorphia is one of the worst consequences of Instagram. But with opposing apps like Be Real showing up, let’s find out more about the possible problems with Instagram.
Body Dysmorphia
We mentioned this before, but Instagram has a lot of filters that change the way your face can look. With AI mapping your filters pixel to pixel, the chasm will only widen between our actual lives and our perceived realities. The Instagram age is much more likely to create opportunities for insecurity and deep psychological shame in children and adults who don’t have “picture-perfect” lives.
There has been a lot of research on the increase in plastic surgeries and face adjustment apps, and many researchers have drawn direct relationships between the two.
It Displays a Stark Comparison
Instagram allows you to have a view of the lives of the people all around you. Many of the reasons that people buy a lot of things quickly are because they want to emulate the lives they see on social media. If you’re in the same peer group as someone else, then it only makes sense to think you should have the same life and circumstances. It makes people sad and depressed as it constantly reminds them of the vast difference between where they are and where they want to be. It can make many people feel perpetually hopeless about what they’re signing up for.
Financial Anxiety
One of the worst aspects of the Instagram age is that it makes men and young boys feel like they’re not doing enough. Finance bros and people who aren’t transparent with their incomes have taken up a lot of space in social media. Much of this is because social media sells people on a triumph-tragedy binary that can be devastating for young people where they feel like if they’re not earning several thousand dollars each month that they’re one step away from financial ruin.
Financial anxiety and depression are disproportionately affecting men, who are much more likely to commit suicide due to said depression. The financial anxiety doesn’t just come from the Instagram age however, we are in the middle of a recession but for young people who are going through life for the first time, this little detail can be inconsequential.
The Algorithm is a Spiral
The Instagram algorithm works in weird ways, and it may solidify the beliefs that a child already has. If you’ve watched the Social Dilemma on Netflix, then you know that algorithms are like an overthinking spiral i.e., they provide you with content like the one you’ve watched. It can lead people to have much more divisive natures later in life.
Final Thoughts
The Instagram age is not all doom and gloom. However, it is essential to understand the problems with social media so that you don’t pay too much heed to a problem that may be solved by getting out of your phone.
