Instagram Is Hands Down The Worst Social Medium Of 2018, But It's Not The Platform's Fault

I know what you're thinking. Oh jeez, another rant about social media corrupting society. Well, you're sort of right, but that isn't the complete picture. I'll explain.

Yes, I think on some level all social media creates a lot of societal negativities. It's an outlet for "fake news," it makes it easier for creepy people to know what you're up to, and so on. But I do think social media is overall beneficial, and the pros far outweigh the cons. But recently, at least to me, it's clear what each site's purpose has become, and I despise Instagram's.

Facebook is used to show your life and what goes on in it, Snapchat is used to be funny with friends, Twitter is used to share thoughts in daily life or current events, and Instagram—well, it's used for living fake lives and warping confidence.

On Instagram, suddenly the world is wonderful and everyone's faces and bodies are perfect.

Personally, every time I go on Instagram, I later close the app feeling bad about myself - this happens to many people I know as well.

I know logically that people use photoshop and pose perfectly and only use the best pictures of themselves and their lives. But seeing the photos daily when I scroll through really started to affect me emotionally.

I started to wonder why I can't have the perfect jawline and highlighted nose and tight belly and long legs that all the bikini pictures and posed selfies I scroll through showcase. Many friends of mine and I have become more insecure, all because of how people pretend to have perfection and how easy it is to forget it's pretend.

I'm not yelling at people who look like (or are) models on Instagram. I really have no problem with people having confidence and showing it. But Instagram confidence is usually all pretending. Fake confidence. Fake confidence that will only lower other peoples' real confidence. And that is a truly sad reality.

Facebook sucks, most young people can agree on that—but at least we use it to be real with people. Snapchat is silly but at least we derive real joy from it. Putting aside memes and cat videos or other things every social site has, what happiness does Instagram really bring to the internet anymore?

I fell into the trap of living the fake Insta life, too. I never photoshop, but I have become extremely selective about which photos to post and how I want to look and comparing my Instagram profile to more "aesthetic" and popular ones. And it's made me really unhappy. So I decided to stop using Instagram entirely for a week so far, and honestly, my self-esteem is already improving. I feel like I'm living my real life again, and it's amazing how easy it was to forget the importance of that.

Whatever you believe about Instagram and social media, whatever you do with the internet, all I suggest is to remember who you are and what you want your life to be. Before posting, before liking photos and videos, before saying "I wish I looked like that"—remember that you are an amazingly real and really amazing human being, and there's no need to feel compared to anyone's fake bodies and lives. No soul and no life will ever compare to yours, real or fake.