I get it: People like to post that selfie they worked so hard to take. Whether it be finding the right lighting, making the overused “duck face” pose or editing with the right filters, we all want to get the most likes. That’s what it ultimately comes down to: a competition to see if you can beat your previous likes "high score." This whole process, however, is actually quite terrifying when you sit back and look at what it does to people.
The process of posting a picture of yourself online in search of acceptance from others gives us some sort of “high." In the moments that follow, you find yourself constantly checking your newsfeed to see if you got a like from at least one person. God forbid a minute passes and no one has liked your picture yet. What about two minutes? Three minutes and still no likes? Thoughts such as, "Oh my god, I’m ugly. No one liked my picture. That’s so embarrassing. I guess it wasn’t good enough. I need to change the way I look so people will like what I post," fill your anxious mind and leave you feeling worthless. Now you either need to text your closest friend to like the picture so you don’t look like a fool or the picture needs to go.
Why is this? Why do we want people to like us this much? Teenagers these days are so caught up in the mindset that everything they do needs to be shown to the world. We need to portray ourselves as seductive and attractive so that people will like us. It's like the notification, “so-and-so liked your photo,” gives us the reassurance we need that we're not actually ugly. People try so hard by posing in certain positions and making certain faces and gestures that they think people will like and approve of. People are so wrapped up in the concept of posting selfies everywhere they go for the mere purpose of getting likes on Instagram. With that, they don’t even enjoy the actual reason they were there in the first place.
Since Instagram became so popular, more and more teens post pictures of themselves in an attempt to get society to approve of them and their looks. If they receive negative feedback in the form of rude comments or no likes, it digs at their self-esteem. What we need to start realizing is that we do not need to seek everyone’s acceptance, because it's truly unrealistic.
Not everyone in the world is going to approve of what you wear and how you look. Haters are out there and they will hate when they get the chance to. More importantly, the focus of posting a picture should not be to get the most likes, resulting in the painful wait for someone to comment if you're pretty or not. I'm not condemning taking pictures and sharing them on your social media sites. Document your life and take as many selfies in as many uncomfortable positions as you want, but make sure you're taking those photos for you, not for anyone else. Find validation in yourself.
Be yourself and have fun. You don't need to impress anyone or have society approve of how you look and what you do because in the end, you won’t meet everyone's expectations. Know who you are, and even if you don't get as many likes or as many comments as planned, it doesn’t make you any less of a person.
