This is the problem with all social networks, instagram is just the most popular.
Imagine working overtime for months, saving money, paying for a hotel room at some seaside vacation place, travel in a shitty plane and in a shitty buy to that location, be tired, sleep the first of the three nights there on a shitty bed, eat shitty breakfast, go to the shitty with sewer flowing into the water 100m away...
...and then you take out your camera, pull in your stomach hard, pose in a way that hides body imperfections, hold in your hand a really shitty cocktail, that you paid half your days spending budget for, be carfeul to frame in a way, that the sewer is not visible, and click...
...you now have a perfect photo of someone enjoying their perfect vacation on the beach, drinking a good looking cocktail, enjoying themselves. Maybe even more than one, so you can post them even after you've gone back home.
And what do the viewers who of course follow hundreds of people see? A bunch of happy people, enojing their lives, while they "slave away" at their shitty jobs.
According to the article Facebook’s own research found that while it is a problem for all social networks it’s a significantly more pronounced problem for Instagram in particular:
> They came to the conclusion that some of the problems were specific to Instagram, and not social media more broadly. That is especially true concerning so-called social comparison, which is when people assess their own value in relation to the attractiveness, wealth and success of others.
> “Social comparison is worse on Instagram,” states Facebook’s deep dive into teen girl body-image issues in 2020, noting that TikTok, a short-video app, is grounded in performance, while users on Snapchat, a rival photo and video-sharing app, are sheltered by jokey filters that “keep the focus on the face.” In contrast, Instagram focuses heavily on the body and lifestyle.
The features that Instagram identifies as most harmful to teens appear to be at the platform’s core.
> The tendency to share only the best moments, a pressure to look perfect and an addictive product can send teens spiraling toward eating disorders, an unhealthy sense of their own bodies and depression, March 2020 internal research states. It warns that the Explore page, which serves users photos and videos curated by an algorithm, can send users deep into content that can be harmful.
> “Aspects of Instagram exacerbate each other to create a perfect storm,” the research states.
Imagine working overtime for months, saving money, paying for a hotel room at some seaside vacation place, travel in a shitty plane and in a shitty buy to that location, be tired, sleep the first of the three nights there on a shitty bed, eat shitty breakfast, go to the shitty with sewer flowing into the water 100m away...
...and then you take out your camera, pull in your stomach hard, pose in a way that hides body imperfections, hold in your hand a really shitty cocktail, that you paid half your days spending budget for, be carfeul to frame in a way, that the sewer is not visible, and click...
...you now have a perfect photo of someone enjoying their perfect vacation on the beach, drinking a good looking cocktail, enjoying themselves. Maybe even more than one, so you can post them even after you've gone back home.
And what do the viewers who of course follow hundreds of people see? A bunch of happy people, enojing their lives, while they "slave away" at their shitty jobs.
No wonder people get depressed.