Between Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, Tumblr, etc., people have been able to share more and more of their lives with the world. You rarely see anyone out to eat at a restaurant, relaxing on the beach, or even walking in the park without taking a picture of what they are doing. Although the increasing popularity of social media has allowed people to connect with one another and share their experiences, it has also created a great disconnect with reality.
Nowadays, you are judged by your image on social media before someone even really knows you. Some people spend hours selecting the perfect picture, with the perfect edit and filter on it, to post just to get the most likes possible. Some even make a career out of posting on social media and getting the most likes, so they have the constant pressure of keeping up with their posts and people become obsessed with their lives. Prominent social media figures, like Savannah Montano and Alexis Ren, have large fan bases of teenage girls that obsess over them and wish their lives were as perfect as theirs. What these people fail to realize is that these social media celebrities are human too, and their accounts only show you what they want you to see. It is not the full picture.
Sure, when you look at these pictures, you think these people live perfect lives. They're skinny, they're beautiful, they're always traveling — they must have it all. What people fail to realize is that both social media celebrities and regular everyday people are very particular with what they post. Of course you won't post a picture you look bad in and of course you will post about the positives in your life and refrain from revealing the negatives. These people go places and buy things for the sole purpose of posting on social media to keep up their image. For example, at a party or other social event, there are always a group of girls (and guys, for the record) who are in the corner taking hundreds of pictures with each other. When you see those pictures online, you think that they must be out having the best time when in reality, they're standing in a corner taking pictures the whole time.
Essena O'Neill, teen Instagram star and model, decided to quit social media for good earlier this year, despite the fact she was making a living off her accounts and had a following of more than half a million. She spoke out against it, revealing that her pictures were not an accurate representation of her or her life. She stated, "I was consumed by it. I wasn't living in a 3D world. So many people strive to be popular online to validate themselves, manipulating photos and captions to give the idea they are happy just to get followers and be 'idolized'."
The main message that the ex-Instagram star is promoting is one that everyone should keep in mind: social media is not real. Do not idolize people for what they post or feel like your life is miserable because you are constantly comparing it to the lives that these people share. Social media does not show the full picture. It is not reality.
