Instagram and Self Image

I’ll be the first to admit that I have a bit of an addiction to Instagram. And it’s not the likes, follows, or even the other people on the app. It’s the pictures.

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My Instagram Through the Years

I’ve had the same Instagram account since 5th grade and the evolution of my posts is actually hilarious.

2014                                                 2015

     

2016                                                 2017

      

2018

I credit 2018 for being the beginning of my Instagram photography obsession. That year brought to my page pictures such as:

      

       

It was also the year that I discovered that I could download apps to edit my pictures instead of just editing them in Instagram. This was very help and I think it improved the quality of my posts a lot!

2019

2019 was really the year that I started taking and editing  pictures of myself:

   

 

I also started talking pictures for other people. Some of my favorites I took for my younger sister:

    

     

2020

Even though we’re only about a month into 2020, I expect that I’ll be experimenting more with editing. The posts I’ve already posted and will be posting in the next few weeks are already some of my favorite pictures:

               

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Social Media and Self Image

It’s generally known that social media can take a negative toll on someone’s self image. We tend to compare our lives to other people’s while using services such as Instagram. If we’re not posting pictures with friends, significant others, or on vacation, then we’re not as good as the people who are, right?

This, obviously, is wrong. When we’re on social media, we’re not seeing the whole story. We are only seeing the best of someone’s life and we’re only being told what they want us to hear. An Instagram profile is never an accurate portrayal of someone’s life.

Once you figure this out, social becomes a whole lot more fun! I speak from experience when I say this. I got Instagram in fifth grade because everyone else had it. I posted the same stuff that I saw everyone else posting. But once I realized that I shouldn’t care about likes or what anyone else was doing, Instagram become more of a way for me to express myself than a way to impress others and get likes.

I also learned a very vital lesson about photography: It doesn’t take much to take a good photo. I learned how to pose, edit, and use angles to my advantage. As a person who’s struggled to keep up a positive self image, sees such good pictures of myself really helped my confidence.

Of course, editing pictures of yourself is a little risky. Usually, people will over analyze pictures of themselves, pointing out every minor flaw. It’s possible that they may edit things such as the shape of their face and body, pimples, and other aspects of themselves that they may consider flaws. What helped me overcome this was remembering that not everyone sees my flaws the way I do. What I may think is a terrible flaw that completely ruins the picture might be so small that someone else may not even notice it.

Connor, a fellow junior Media, once told me he could never take a good picture of himself. I told him that was impossible and that I could take a good picture of him right then and there. And I did:

These pictures were taken in 10 minutes in a staircase during class. Not the most convenient time or place, but it proves that you don’t need much to take a good picture.

In short, social media can actually be a good thing if you let it be. It was never meant make us compare ourselves to others. It was meant to help us stay connected and be expressive.