You’ve probably heard this famous quote before “Do it for the Gram”, haven’t you? Instagram has now become a big part of our lives, but the question we need to ask ourselves is “Has it become part of our reality or our fantasies?”
We are exposed every day to beautiful content that can ruin our happiness and confidence if we look at it from a pessimist perspective. And by pessimist perspective, I mean being jealous and comparing our lives to what is shown on social media. Have you ever stalked someone’s profile and thought “Woow! Their life seems so perfect, their body looks so fit, their hair is so pretty and blablabla”? I bet you did… and multiple times. Don’t worry, I did too.
What we don’t realize is that Instagram users are trying to sell us a dream. They only share with us the best moments of their lives and sometimes it’s not even true. They use filters, they Photoshop their bodies and they sometimes photograph themselves acting like they’re doing a certain thing just for the sake of the post. Some people even go on vacation just for their feeds or spend most of their time trying to take the perfect shot that will get them as much likes as possible instead of just admiring the splendid view in front of them. The problem is that we are too naïve. We believe what we see instantly. Have you ever envied someone’s lifestyle or relationship? We look at someone’s feed and wish we could pose like them, smile like them, be an “Instagram babe” like them. We forget to love ourselves and sometimes, in major cases, it leads us to depression. Think about it for a second… A like on a picture only gives you a confidence boost for 30 seconds, but when that feeling disappears, you remain the same person.
I’ve thought about deleting my account a few times before but since it’s my favourite social media, it was pretty hard to stay away from it for more than a day. I then figured out that the problem wasn’t the application itself, but the way I was using it that was making me nuts. After all, Instagram is just an innocent platform to share pictures and to show and develop our artistic skills.
I’ve once read that to be truly happy, you need to keep wanting what you already have instead of wanting what you don’t have or what others have. I feel like we’re always hungry for more likes, for more followers and for more comments. Instagrammers are ready for everything to get that “Insta fame” we’ve all heard about. Showing more skin isn’t a problem anymore if it involves more people following you. People even celebrate it when they’ve obtained a certain number of followers. I’m not saying it’s wrong, people can celebrate anything they want, but I mean isn’t it a bit taking it to the next level? (Anyways, that’s my perspective and you don’t have to agree with me about it.) I’ve even seen people add “Public Figure” under their names because they’ve once posted a YouTube video. The thing with that is that we’re trying to be or believe we’re someone else. We try to convince ourselves we are something because by comparing ourselves to others, we end up thinking we are nothing. But that’s not true. We are all something and we don’t need to convince ourselves by pretending to be a celebrity. We are all unique in our own way.
To sum up, what I am trying to say is that you are all pretty and you don’t need to Photoshop your pictures to be an IG babe. It is said that people with millions of followers aren’t necessarily happier than you, most of the time it’s actually the opposite, but unfortunately Instagram doesn’t show that side. Finally, appreciate what is yours. Do not let Instagram intoxicate you!
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