Instagram: A recipe for life dissatisfaction?
Selena Gomez’s experience with Instagram is different from the vast majority of people given that she was at one point the most followed individual on the popular social media platform. Selena stated that young people “spend all of their time fixating on all of these comments and letting this stuff in”. It’s not news that celebrities often read a lot of hateful and negative comments in numbers that the average person cannot relate to. All of this to say that I can relate to Selena’s decision to delete her account, but only to a certain degree. Her negative experience with Instagram and its toll on her mental health and self-esteem is relatable to many. However, my own experience as an average user of social media is different from hers.
Like Selena suggested, social media’s ability to cause harm is a problem unique to my generation and later ones given that older generations grew up without social media platforms. FOMO or the fear of missing out is triggered by seeing the interesting things and places that people in my feed had experienced. Not only did I witness the lives of my social circle, Instagram gave me the ability to peek into the lives of many people throughout the world. I had the unhealthy inclination to compare myself to others which lead to dissatisfaction with my own life. Social media is often used to show off one’s highlight reel, so I found myself struggling against unrealistic standards. I use social media much less and feel happier because of it. My mental health has improved. Sometimes I miss keeping up to date with popular culture or having a tool to easily keep in touch with friends, but it’s refreshing to shield myself from the negative impacts of social media.
