Don't Change For Love

@aleli1130

My friend Gracie said it best: “Let's make Instagram casual again.”

Since its launch in 2010, Instagram has taken the world by storm. It’s considered unusual to not be on the platform nowadays. As the platform has evolved over the years, Instagram currently acts as a news platform, personal update account, and communicative forum for social interaction.

But what goes into an Instagram post? 

There are so many ways nowadays to make personal social media pages more “socially acceptable.” From following a consistent aesthetic to adding filters or altering lighting, Instagram has allowed us to think that these little alterations make us more appealing to the eye. As users, we mindlessly scroll through this app looking at falsely realistic and manually constructed images of ourselves and the people we know. None of what we see is an accurate depiction of our reality. Influencers even promote this trend by fixing their photos with Photoshop or Facetune. What does that teach younger generations who look up to them? 

I believe that platforms like Instagram should be used to promote your most authentic self. Whether you are at Coachella (in a post-COVID world) or on a hike with friends, Instagram should be used to document candid moments of your life rather than craft a “perfect” image.

I have definitely fallen victim to the expectations that Instagram promotes. I’ll look at photos of myself and slowly start to criticize every aspect of the image the longer I look at it. I’ll try to add filters or even out my skin tone, but it does not assuage my deep worry that I’m riddled with imperfections. With my own posts, I’m trying to fit into the bubble of what is acceptable instead of posting a photo because of its personal significance or meaning it brings to my life. However, I see my fault in this habitual practice and continually work at unlearning Instagram’s ability to promote negative self-talk. Instead, I am challenging myself to reflect on who I am to understand my self-worth outside of a social media profile. 

Instagram has taught us that we must “fix ourselves” to be worthy of likes, despite the company’s efforts to minimize like’s effect by removing the feature in 2019. Self-worth based on numbers is a driving catalyst for young people’s declining mental health and constant self-criticism. The moment we begin to feel invalidated by an app based on follower count, number of comments, or number of likes is the moment we lose our self-worth and identity. We are allowing our profile to become our opinion. 

To transform the way we have been trained to see Instagram is harder than it sounds. This app has been around since 2010 and has made a massive impact on many generations, young and old. Impressionable children were taught early on that arbitrary numbers inform their likeability and self-worth; that mindset is surprisingly hard to step away from even if its debilitating effects are recognizable. 

Instagram should be used to show who we are, not who we wish we were. I encourage readers to recognize their self-worth outside of social media, despite the challenges that come with that task. Every person is worth a million times more than what any “like” can get them. If you are struggling with Instagram’s negative side effects, try to do a cleanse and then return to the app. Time to reflect, even if only for a week, can be so beneficial. Upon returning to the app, if you choose to do so, you can embrace Instagram with fresh eyes and a new perspective.

By Madi E.

UT Austin student, lover of all things television and movies and SoulCycle enthusiast. Writes because words can change everything.