Think about it: every time you scroll on Insta, you compare yourself to others. Maybe you ask yourself, "Why aren't I as skinny as she is?" Maybe you think, "Why aren't I doing all these cool things? Why can't I have those experiences?" Most of Instagram isn't even real. Filters, edits, Photoshop, etc. are all prevalent on this channel, even though there are many that preach about being "real" and "unfiltered."
The first reason it's going to destroy our generation is that it gives us a basis to compare ourselves to others. The followers to following ratio basically determines how "cool" you are, and if you don't have a preset for all your Instagram photos, do you even have an Instagram? Don't get me wrong, I love Instagram, and I like posting pictures and seeing what my friends are up to, but it is not the end all be all of my life. I know WAY too many people who will delete pictures if they don't get a certain amount of likes or if not enough people comment. Imagine living your life so worried about what other people think that you need a certain amount of likes to feel good about yourself.
Additionally, in younger members of our generation, going through puberty is even harder than normal. I'll be the first to tell you that puberty was good to me, but took a while to occur. Middle school was hellacious for me, and I didn't even have social media at that point. Young girls are committing suicide based on sites about depression and trying to emulate celebrities' bodies even though most of their bodies are photoshopped, and it's literally their job to look like that. If any one of us only had to work out three hours a day and eat healthy to make millions of dollars, we'd probably do it too.
Also, people are treating other people based on how they act on social media. For example, if you don't have a certain amount of followers or likes on your pictures, you are judged differently based on others' followers and likes. It makes it really easy for us to compare ourselves to others or wonder why people don't like us as much as some other person. Honestly, none of it makes a difference.
However, there are some good things that Instagram provides. For example, my friends and family that follow me are able to see updates of what I'm doing with my sorority, my boyfriend, or just my friends. Also, I get a LOT of workout videos from Instagram, which are free and allow me to learn more about fitness than I would on my own. There are also similar things for people who like cooking, or painting, or photography: it allows us to learn and grow a lot from what other people have learned.
It's important for us to think about Instagram or any other social media just as a PART of our lives, not our whole life. If I spent as much time on Instagram as some other people do, I would never have time for anything else! Influencers and bloggers are also contributing to this idea of being online and logged on 24/7, but in reality, it's not healthy. Just think about all the other things you could be learning and experiencing with that time! Don't take yourself, or Instagram, too seriously.
