Everyone can see just how much social media’s scope and influence has increased since it first made way during our ever embarrassing MySpace days. Just as social media has grown, I feel that expectations have increased significantly as well. It seems that everyone is competing to prove they have the best clothes, are having the best time, and are the most beautiful. And how can we compete with the ever popular users who have become “Instafamous” for their incredible and lavish photos. These Instagram models and bloggers have created expectations that seem unreachable, but it is important to remember that social media is the perfect foundation for creating things that aren’t always as they seem.
It’s safe to say that most users know that not everything they see on social media sites are real. Of course, we have the options to filter and edit anything and everything. But, what prompted me to be more critical of what was going on behind the scenes was when an “Instagram famous” model, Essena O'Neill, took to her Instagram to reveal the deceitfulness of her account. She changed the majority of her photo’s captions to a more accurate representation of what her pictures were, and eve changed her Instagram name to “Social media is not real life”.
O’Neill said that she would pose, “stomach sucked in, strategic pose, pushed up boobs.” And she wants other girls to know that, “this isn't candid life, or cool or inspirational” and, “it’s contrived perfection made to get attention.” An example a caption she changed on one her stunning photos included:
“Please like this photo, I put on makeup, curled my hair, tight dress, big uncomfortable jewelry... Took over 50 shots until I got one I thought you might like, then I edited this one selfie for ages on several apps- just so I could feel some social approval from you. THERE IS NOTHING REAL ABOUT THIS. #celebrityconstruct”
O’Neill’s comments were met with some criticism from other similarly famous faces on social media, claiming it was a publicity stunt and that they did not get any indication of these feelings from her in the time they spent with working with her. Regardless, the message is still the same: social media isn’t always what it seems. The perception problem is more prevalent among users and celebrities and self-proclaimed social media celebrities, rather than amongst the friends and followers they know in real life.
We all know (and have been told millions of times) that what we see in magazines, on TV and the likes are not real because they are edited and airbrushed. However, this knowledge we think we have may be lost on social media. It is harder to remember that these photos aren’t always realistic because of how personal social media is. It makes you think you know what these bloggers and models are always doing, when in reality they are committing a majority of their time to these sites and often getting paid to do so through advertising. This is not to say to disregard these sites because they are great for inspiration, but just be wary before you compare your feed to another’s.
