Instagram Models And 'Influencers' Are Hurting Your Mental Health

Instagram Models And 'Influencers' Are Hurting Your Mental Health

Consider hitting the unfollow button for people who make you feel bad.

Joe Wojtkowski
Joe Wojtkowski Feb 18, 2019
37
views

A popular conversation nowadays is whether or not social media and "your phone" are bad for your mental health and social skills.

This is something I have been thinking about for quite some time, as I started to pinpoint things that are making me feel down in my everyday life. While scrolling through my Instagram feed one day, I found myself getting irritated.

I was angry because I felt like I kept seeing popular models and social figures flex their accomplishments and sponsorships, and I thought two things.

  1. I will never be able to be/look like that person
  2. What have they done with their life that they can live in a house in the hills in Los Angeles at 25 years old?

It started to come into my everyday life. I would put on an outfit and say to myself "an Instagram influencer or 'stylist' wouldn't be caught dead wearing this." I tried to remind myself that I live in a frigid East Coast city where I have to dress for the 20° Polar Vortex, and I don't spend my days basking in a pool under the Los Angeles sun.

I would be at the gym and after a workout, I would say to myself "Here's to another week not looking like an Instagram fitness model."

These two things ultimately lead me to my conclusion --

I can't compare myself to others, especially when I don't know their lives or how they built their successes.

However, Instagram influencers and models are detrimental to your mental image because you compare yourself to someone who doesn't have the same life as you do.

All I can ask is … how can a 23-year old who has no job other than posting Instagram sponsorships maintain a house in the Hollywood Hills...?

From what I have seen, a lot of popular Instagram models and pages have built their brand on two things: sex and vanity.

Every other post was with their gorgeously toned bodies, and once they gained a following from these posts, they branch away from it to show the public that they are more than just a sex symbol. One influencer I follow built his whole brand off his body, he eventually stopped posting shirtless pictures and started selling bleached crop top hoodies, and another stopped posting their thirst traps and started promoting books (maybe so he looked like he was more educated than the next Instagram model, but who's to say.)

People compare their bodies to ones that Instagram models have, but these figures could have alternative ways of achieving their look.

I would look at the Instagram "influencer" who promoted books and reading after his array of shirtless selfies and took a closer look at the size of his lips and face over time. They went from normal sized, relatively attractive lips, to oversized and clearly filled with injections. This went for his skin too, perfectly clear and toned, but he spent a fortune going to different skincare places and trying new makeup products.

It's like comparing yourself to an ideology rather than looking up to somebody for who or what they are.

People compare themselves to Instagram bodybuilders, but they went through over a decade of hard work, dedication, dieting, etc. You can't be mad you don't look like Jeff Seid when you've only been going to the gym for a few weeks.

It is good to have someone to look up to, but don't look up to them and desire to be them to a point where it affects your own self-image.

If you want to go to the gym every day so you can have a body like Bella Hadid or Jeff Seid, then, by all means, work towards your goals. Don't beat yourself up if you don't have the instant gratification of looking like somebody after a few workouts, though.

This mentality goes for everything in your life; don't compare yourself to someone to where it affects your own self-image.

Instagram "influencers" are called "influencers" because that is what they intend to do, influence you into looking like them or living a lifestyle like them. How did they get that lifestyle? What did they create or what job did they book that gave them the opportunity to live a lavish lifestyle at such a young age?

After they build their brands and promote themselves, they end their winded posts about whatever with some caption that feels like "Look and live just like me, but remember, I'm just like you."

Joe Wojtkowski
Joe Wojtkowski Feb 18, 2019
At Temple University

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75 Of The Most Iconic Vine Quotes

"I smell like beef"

Mia McLaughlin
Mia McLaughlin Jul 10, 2018
143451
views

Vine may be dead but Vine references live on. I still watch Vine threads AT LEAST twice a day. Here are 75 of the most quotable vines:

1. "Ooooooo, he needs some milk."

2. "Hi, welcome to Chili's."

3. "It is Wednesday, my dudes."

4. "Country boy, I love you ahhhwweelhwh..."

5. "Escalera oooooooaaaa!"

6. "F**k ya chicken strips!"

7. "Barbecue sauce on my titties."

8. "Gimme your F**KING money!"

9. "That was legitness."

10. "Ms. Keisha, MS. KEISHA! Oh my f**king God, she f**king dead."

11. "Fre-sha-vocado."

12. "Staaaahp! I coulda dropped my croissant!"

13. "That's my OPINION."

14. "You're not my dad, ugly ass f**king noodle head."

15. "What the f**k, Richard."

16. "This bitch empty, YEET!"

17. "Road work ahead? Yeah, I sure hope it does."

18. "What up, I'm Jared I'm 19, and I never f**king learned how to read."

19. "Um, I'm never been to oovoo javer."

20. "My God, they were roommates."

21. "Why are you running, why are you running?"

22. "Whoever threw that paper, your mom's a hoe."

23. "I can't swim."

24. "Lebron James."

25. "It's an avocado, thanksssss..."

26. "Mother trucker dude, that hurt like a butt cheek on a stick."

27. "Watch your profanity."

28. "I love you bitch, I ain't never gonna stop loving you, biiiiiitch."

29. "What are thoooooose?"

30. "I smell like beef."

31. "You better stop."

32. "What the F**K IS UP KYLE?"

33. "Come get y'all juice."

34. "Two bros, chilling in a hot tub, 5 feet apart cause they're not gay."

35. "So you just gonna bring me a birthday gift on my birthday to my birthday party on my birthday with a birthday gift?"

36. "I wanna be a cowboy, baby."

37. "Why you always lying?"

38. "Nice Ron" "I sneezed, oh, what, am I not allowed to sneeze?"

39. "I'm washing me and my clothes."

40. "Honey, you've got a big storm coming."

41. "XOXO, gossip girl."

42. "Shoutout to all the pear."

43. "A potato flew around my room before you came."

44. "Chipotle is my life."

45. "Look at all those chickens!"

46. "YOU BETTER STOP."

47. "I like turtles."

48. "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life, watermelon, INSIDE A WATERMELON."

49. "Deez nuts, HA GOT EM?"

50. "F**k you, I don't want no ravioli."

51. "21."

52. "I'm in my mum's car, broom broom."

53. "Iridocyclitis."

54. "You know what, I'm about to say it."

55. "That is NOT correct."

56. "Uh, I'm not finished" "Oh my God, can you let me do what I need to do?"

57. "I have osteoporosis."

58. "ADAM."

59. "Merry Chrysler."

60. "Wait a minute, who ARE you?"

61. "Try me, bitch."

62. "When will you learn, THAT YOUR ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES?"

63. "I didn't get no sleep cause of y'all, y'all not gone get no sleep cause of me!"

64. "Do you want to go see Uncle Cracker or no?"

65. "So no head?"

66. "You got eczema."

67. "I am shooketh."

68. "Hey my name is Trey, I have a basketball game tomorrow."

69. "Can I PLEASE get a waffle?"

70. "There is only one thing worse than a rapist." "A child."

71. "Ah f**k, I can't believe you've done this."

72. "Bitch, I hope the f**k you do."

73. "Two shots of vodka."

74. "F**k off Janet, I'm not going to your f**king baby shower."

75. "JEEEEEZ, Jesus Christ."

Cover Image Credit:

Vine/Katie Ryan

Mia McLaughlin
Mia McLaughlin Jul 10, 2018
At Michigan State University

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Is Technology Helping Or Hurting Introverts? There's Some Debate With 3 Pros And 3 Cons

While telecommuting delights most introverts, the temptation to do more work and impress supervisors can lead some to feel permanently on the time clock.

Kayla Matthews
Kayla Matthews Mar 20, 2019
55
views

If you're an introvert like me, you probably revel in the ability to work and communicate in our modern world without needing to leave the house or even put on pants.

However, some experts feel that our technological ability to reach others without speaking a word makes IRL interactions even more stressful for the bookworm set.

Technology does provide many useful advantages. It allows those in the workforce to skip the morning commute, reducing carbon emissions, it opens up new educational opportunities and it even promotes discourse between relative strangers on opposite sides of the world.

But can too much of a good thing lead to further isolation and disconnect at work?

Pro 1: Technology lets introverts be heard

Have you ever had a brilliant solution cross your mind while in a meeting but hesitated to share your insight? You're not alone.

Many introverts hesitate to speak up in group settings either out of fear of embarrassment or from struggling to get a word in edgewise around more gregarious peers. Technology permits introverts to share their stroke of genius via email or message as opposed to sharing it verbally

Pro 2: Technology opens creative career doors

In earlier times, success in the creative world meant writing, painting or acting — three fields notoriously difficult to earn a living in unless talent, determination, and serendipity collided perfectly.

However, if you're a creative introvert today, you can find career success in designing web pages, coding apps, and software or producing internet content.

Pro 3: Technology celebrates unique talents

No, you may never knock recruiters' socks off with slick-talking braggadocio, but the right employer will honor your unique abilities nevertheless. Introverts take to deep work like baby ducks to water and easily maintain their attention span when working on tasks that interest them.

Whether your boss needs you to prep a carefully written legal brief or reconcile the company's balance sheet, they'll know you're someone they can count on to do the job right.

Con 1: Technology can contribute to burnout

While telecommuting delights most introverts, the temptation to do more work and impress supervisors can lead some to feel permanently on the time clock. If you work from home, establish a regular schedule just as if you still clocked in and out of the office daily. This helps to preserve work-life balance.

Con 2: Technology can increase social anxiety

While social anxiety is a very real disorder, avoiding contact makes interactions all the more difficult when real life discussions need to occur. Try your best to initiate at least one IRL interaction each day.

No, this won't turn you into an extrovert, but you can improve your conversational skills just like you hone your programming or accounting prowess.

Con 3: Technology can hinder coworker relations

Even extroverts dislike dealing with certain coworkers, but if you gain a reputation for being snooty or stuck-up simply for being quiet and skipping out on after-work gatherings, you can stymie your career progression.

Yes, the office Chatty Cathy may drive you batty, but when promotion time comes around, guess whose name sticks in your manager's mind? You don't need to go to happy hour with the team every single Friday, but making an occasional appearance brands you as shy but a still a team player, not an aloof ice princess.

Finding balance as an Introvert in an extroverted world isn't easy.

If you're an introvert like me, thriving in a talkative world may seem a feat akin to scaling Mt. Everest without the benefit of ropes and Sherpa guides. But plenty of introverts achieve enormous career success and contribute immensely to society with their insight and creativity.

By balancing technology with IRL contact, you can reach your work goals without needed to spend too much time making small talk about the weather.

Kayla Matthews
Kayla Matthews Mar 20, 2019
At Aspiring Journalism Professionals

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