For fellow Instagram users, you will probably agree with me when I say that having a “cool” Instagram may you give little (teeny tiny) bit of social status. Now, I know we all perceive “cool” differently. And “cool” is probably one of the corniest words I could’ve used but hey. By “cool” I’m talking about the Instalife goal group, those “cool kids” who are paid to post, free clothes, 1000’s of likes, social networking events and all that malarky that us 600-follower-gang won’t even understand. To be honest, it seems like a pretty ideal way of life. Getting paid to post a selfie, getting packages of tooth whitening strips in the post, Ummm yes, please. Beyond the goodies and freebies, I wonder what its like to have that “perfect insta life”. Some of them travel the world in bikinis and frolic in Bali, the artsy lot are working events and wearing those £300 trainers I can’t afford and many just simply take pictures of their “fleeky” eyebrows and its money in the pocket.
Instagram works because everyone you follow, whether it be Kylie Jenner, Bella Hadid or that hot young thing from manchester, they all seem to post pictures from their daily routine. And by this you almost feel a part of their social group, drawing the normal out of their celeb hood. When they Post pics with their friends eating McD’s and sitting in parks its just all to familiar. It all seems so real. But it’s just so easy to fall into the trap of believing and perceiving everything we view as truth. Instagram is full of all “goals” life has to offer, and by “goals” I’m not talking about anything to do with football. #Goals is a term which has been floating around the internet for a while now, according to ELLE Magazine (2015) “A goal is something you are trying to do or achieve”. This trending term pairs neatly with other prefixes such as “life”, “body”, “hair”, “squad” and “relationship”. A “goal: within this context becomes an outlandish, perceived quality of life that we recognise as unattainable.
Life goals, art goals, body goals, travel goals, hair goals etc. Instagram by nature allows these goals to run riot and take over our explore feed. Please note, I’m not complaining. I, in fact, use the term “goals” a lot. I and you both probably follow many accounts we envy, that girl you follow who seems to have everything, but does she really have anything but likes and star struck emoji comments?
In 2015, lifestyle blogger Essena O’Neil quit Instagram as she felt she couldn’t keep up with the lust for perfection. She said “It’s all so contrived, it’s not real life. It’s just good lighting, I’m not even a happy person”.
There are several studies that show the influence social networking has on our mental health. Apparently, it is common to feel somewhat sad, jealous or dissatisfied after using IG. Probably because we are constantly scrolling through and making social comparisons that are actually often staged. Humans have the natural tendency to compare ourselves to others and make judgements about ourselves. The problem is we seem to be allowing ourselves to becomes victims, victims who relish in finding flaws by consuming imagery that is so often contrived, constructed and definitely taken under the best lighting.
It is Oh so obvious that beauty cultivates our culture, it’s difficult to avoid. Print, film, tv, and advertising all continue to portray the traditional ideals of beauty. The constant display of perfection now lies no closer than our fingertips. Our Instagram feed is full of hot young things wearing those jeans you can’t afford, hanging in cool bars you’ve never heard of while continuing to gleam in perfect lighting and stone island jumpers. Yeah as it stands I wanna be them. They seem to have everything money, friends, unlimited frozen yoghurt, mojitos and acai bowls. But Are these hot young things really happy? Or are they even real? Maybe. Or some. Or none. Or all. I don’t know, and I won’t know. Some of them maybe, but some Instagram identities are constructions. Are they really that “cool” in real life? And also, does it even matter if they aren’t? There’s this sense of elite hood on Instagram and I don’t know if I quite understand it. All I know is that the posts I scroll through and double tap do not have the power to show a persons entirety. It’s easy to make assumptions about people, especially after a few posts. But we’ve got to remember just because someone posts 60 photos looking happy and “perfect” it does not mean they are beaming 100% of the time. We have to stop comparing ourselves to stand still images, How can one image represent a person’s entire being and welfare- it can’t, and it shouldn’t.
I feel this lust and obsession for “goals” conjures ideas of narcissus. It’s vanity at the end of the day, a new form. The Instagram constructed identities push forward vanity but in a way that’s about not being content. Becoming a designing process for new personalities within the online sphere. The IG crew who present this perfect life are perhaps wearing masks to conceal self-esteem issues. Wish fulfilment falls too, the insane desire to be known by strangers and by as many strangers as possible. This drives it. It feeds the flame. Fame is the spur. The desire for fame is what keeps us lusting, the more followers, the more rewards. The more rewards, the fancier the clothes, the nicer the car, its materialism at the end of it all. We seem to long this desire to be admired in order to get money.
The world is a very strange place these days, and though I comment on it-I am every means apart of it.
So, that was Part 1!
My discussion on the Instagram Identity will continue you very soon.
Stay leafy gang,
Ella xx
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