Instagram is a popular social media platform meant for the purpose of sharing memories through pictures and videos. Unfortunately, a new trend has recently surfaced among teen girls and young-adult females that may be contributing to an extremely unhealthy body image. This new fad is called thinstagram (or thinsta) — where women seek out accounts or hashtags that depict extremely skinny, fit women in hopes of inspiring themselves to lose weight.
I myself, along with many of my friends, are guilty of buying into this trend.Young women will follow Instagram accounts of other women who post pictures and videos of themselves working out, of their healthy, trendy meals, and of their supposedly motivating before and after pictures. I’m sure most girls who are active on social media have heard of Kayla Itsines, a fitness guru who has made herself famous by sharing her personal story of fitness evolution and has now built a large network of followers who live by her workout regime she calls BBGs (Bikini Body Guides).
I originally followed Itsines on Instagram for the same reason that most probably do, with the hope that seeing her pictures while I scrolled through my daily feed would inspire me to be like the other “BBG” girls who had gone through the most incredible body transformations. Not only do I follow her and other fitness accounts, I figured that I could motivate myself even more by following girls who have what our culture has defined as the ideal, perfect body. These girls have achieved a small bit of fame by simply being attractive and showcasing it on their accounts, which mainly consist of selfies, oftentimes showcasing their bodies.These girls endorse brands that pay them to wear their bikinis or their clothing; our society has labeled them “Instagram models."
Vulnerable girls will follow these accounts and spend hours stalking them, buying into the lie that their lives are the ultimate goal. I followed Itsines along with other thinstagram accounts with the hopes of inspiring my lazy butt to get off the couch, but in the end following these accounts did not coerce me to put my pizza down and head over to the gym. The negative impact greatly outweighed any positive effects that came from following these accounts. These thinstas are fueling negative body image — a problem that already exists so prevalently in our society, especially among adolescent females.
How did following these accounts make me feel? For one, they made me all too aware of the flaws of which I was already abundantly aware. Itsines and other fitness gurus post before and after pictures, celebrating their transformation to a healthier body. The problem with this is that the before version of the girl being showcased is being defined as not good enough. For the thousands of girls who look at the before pictures and feel that that is what their own bodies look like, the conclusion is clear: improvement is needed.
The intention of these fitness accounts is good: to promote a healthier lifestyle by exercising and eating right, but being bombarded with these messages is only leading to an unhealthy mindset. Every time we check Instagram, we are being reminded that our bodies are not good enough, that we need to work out, eat healthy and improve ourselves. Instead of upping confidence levels, thinstagram is draining us, putting way too much of an emphasis on physical appearance.
What I’ve learned over the past few years of struggling with my own body image is that the key to being healthy is having balance, not putting such an emphasis on physical appearance, and giving myself some leeway. These fitness gurus that we compare ourselves to base their whole lives around fitness, oftentimes maintaining strict diets and strict workout regiments. For the average person, this lifestyle is completely unrealistic. The key to succeeding at a healthy way of life is understanding that it is OK to let yourself eat a cheat meal or skip a day (or five) from the gym. Treating your body right by exercising and eating nutritiously is always a good thing, but allowing your physical appearance to be the priority and letting it take over your life will only lead to a toxic, addictive, unhealthy way of thinking.
