Instagram,
as many people know, is a social networking app/website owned by Facebook. It
is one of the most popular social networks and very commonly used today. User’s
can post a picture and followers can like it instantly. Instagram has a
psychological effect on it’s users by either adding to their ego or causing
insecurity.
Instagram
is one of my favorite apps and has been for the past few years. Posting a
picture that you took and then editing it to make it look even more incredible
is a very enjoyable thing to do. The user was limited to only posting pictures
they took, then after many updates later, the user can edit videos on their
computer and post almost whatever they want. Now, to get to the point, a big
thing that makes me and probably almost every other user love Instagram as much
as we do is the “Like” factor. When someone posts a picture and receives a lot
of likes, it makes them feel better and gives them a sort of “high”. An article
in New York Magazine stated, “I think people give too much value to the like, People are
addicted. We experience withdrawals. We are so driven by this drug, getting
just one hit elicits truly peculiar reactions.” (O’Connor, 2014). When
someone posts a picture and receives little to no likes it will typically make
them feel insecure because from my experience, it makes them think they look
bad. Some people even delete the picture if it does not get a certain amount of
likes. You know how ridiculous this sounds? Pretty ridiculous. To get insecure
enough to delete a picture you wanted to post? Kind of interesting to think
about how a picture can impact how you feel about yourself.
Feeling
insecure about yourself is not very uncommon, in fact normal in a way. Being
insecure because of a picture that did not get the amount of likes you wanted,
seems little more ridiculous. Elite Daily states, “Insecure people are always seeking some kind of approval
for the things they do, but in reality, it shouldn’t matter if someone likes
something you posted or not. Part of being confident means being able to post
things without seeking approval. Stop caring about the “likes.” If you like
what you posted, it doesn’t matter who else does or doesn’t”(Kirk 2014). Users
get insecure through this example of the amount of likes their picture gets or
over their following to follower ratio. What the hell is a following to
follower ratio? This is whether or not you are following more people than are
following you.
Example:
Apparently
it is a big deal to be following less people than are following you, but you
still need a lot of followers? Seems like a strict set of guidelines in order
to look cool. This can also be linked back to twitter with the following to
follower ratio and if people favorite your tweets or not. Sounds like it is
pretty hard to be a teen in today’s society, worrying about whether or not
people like you and your opinions online #FirstWorldProblems. This is a thing
that occurs today with people using social networks and actually influences the
way they act. Users will delete tweets or pictures that are not liked as much
as they wanted, or if people do not agree with their opinions. Users will also
filter what they put out on the internet because of how other people will perceive
them. I know that I have definitely started posting less on social networks the
more followers I received and I did not really understand the reasons until
now.
Obviously these reasons for insecurity have a negative affect on a persons ego by making them insecure and
feel bad about themselves if they do not get a lot of likes or followers. These
reasons for insecurity can also work in the opposite way. If people have a lot
of followers and get a lot of likes on their pictures, it can have a positive
affect on their ego. A good example of this is Kim Kardashian and how she
became famous for nothing, well not really nothing. She was pretty wealthy and
friends with famous people, and then starred in a home movie featuring Ray J,
but social media blew her up. Social media even earns her a percentage of her
wealth according to Forbes, “A
component of her annual entertainment income comes from social media. The
Kardashian clan is paid to tweet out ads to their many millions of fans; Kim
alone has 21.9 million followers on Twitter and 15.7 million on Instagram.”(O’Connor,
2014). She has a
book of selfies… I don’t know how to respond to that. She is famous for
contributing very little to society and yet has the most over-inflated ego out
of all celebrities. Her and many other people also social media sites to get
paid to advertise, leading the trail of Instagram models commonly seen on the
app today. Popular users with an abundance of followers can get paid by
companies to feature their products in their pictures. According to CNBC, “an Instagram user with about
200,000 followers can make anywhere between $5,000 and $7,500 per month”(Saiidi,
2014). Getting paid to post pictures? Sounds like a nice gig. That has a real
positive affect on a person’s ego, huh?
Social networks are super fun to
use, especially Instagram in my opinion. Sometimes they can have a negative
impact on the way we act, by not getting enough likes, and this makes us feel
insecure. It can also give us a positive affect on our egos if we get a lot of
likes. No doubt, we give way to much power to the “Like”. I mean I compared the
feeling to a high from a drug, like what??? Some people can be completely fine
with their pictures or posts not getting a lot of likes, but I am not that kind
of person. If you are one of those people, kudos to you, ignorance is bliss.
Works Cited
Kirk, Julia. "Living For Likes: 5 Ways Insecure People Use
Social Media." Elite Daily
Living For Likes 5 Ways Insecure People Use Social Media
Comments. N.p., 08 July 2014. Web. 14 Oct. 2015. <http://elitedaily.com/life/5-ways-insecure-people-use-social-media/618771/>.
O'Connor, Clare. "Kim Kardashian's $28 Million Year: How
She Made More Than
Ever Before." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 30 July 2014.
Web. 14 Oct. 2015. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2014/06/30/kim-kardashians-28-million-year-how-she-made-more-than-ever-before/>.
O'Connor, Maureen. "Addicted to Likes: How Social Media
Feeds Our Neediness."
The Cut. N.p., 20 Feb. 2014. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
<http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/02/addicted-to-likes-social-media-makes-us-needier.html>.
Saiidi, Uptin. "Why Instagram 'influencers' Are Snapping up
Cash." CNBC. N.p., 11
Apr. 2014. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.cnbc.com/2014/04/11/instagram-influencers-models-make-thousands-working-on-instagram.html>.
This topic is perfect for kids no a days! We are all social media driven. If you dont get a lot of like you're considered not pretty or handsome.... When did this come about? People have become so shallow now a days and have turned to people liking there pictures to being popular. What happened to have a group of friends and being popular there. Now everyone can comment on social media and make it even worse. I don't remember a time where there was not an Instagram it has become a global phenomenon.
ReplyDeleteI really like your topic choice, I think it definitely speaks to hands down, a majority of students at Merrimack and all schools really. I honestly did not know that Instagram owned Facebook, so that was good to know. I completely agree that Instagram can influence someone's ego, as well as add to their insecurities. It is bizarre to think about how getting little to no likes on a picture can really impact our feelings of how we look or portray ourselves. The "#FirstWorldProblems" mad me laugh haha, that was great. "She has book of selfies. I don't know how to respond to that" , FACT! Your whole blog is great, really wanted to keep reading, your statistics were really interesting, and great word choices.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog. I think you did a great job and really hit the nail on the head. It is stupid how much people care about the like they get and how people really do take down their posts for not having "enough" likes. People should post as a photo album for themselves not for others. I like how you touch on a lot or recognizable topics such as #firstworldproblems, the follower to follower ratio, and other common names like the Kardashian's.
ReplyDeleteI love Instagram, I use it often and love sharing photos, but I have to agree with the part about the "likes." I specifically know people who will remove photos or post them at certain times because of "likes." It's weird and I understand how it could make people feel that way, but I'd never see it like that whenever I post something. Nice job and fun read!
ReplyDeleteI really relate to your blog because I myself have stopped posting on all of my social media in the last couple years. I have recently realized it was because of insecurity, I stopped posting instagrams because I did not get a lot of likes and I felt that what I posted was dumb and not worthy. I have also recently realized, like your blog says, I shouldn't care how many people like it. I posted it because I like it, not because I want someone else to like it. I like how relatable you made your blog and how you broke down the psychological effects social media has on people.
ReplyDelete