178 Likes

Vanessa,
You’re 10 years old and in 3 years you’re going to discover Instagram. You’ll download the app on the family iPad and start posting overly edited selfies to share with your zero followers. Then one day during recess you’ll notice a few other girls talking about the app. You’ll go home from school and delete your posts. The next day you’ll input your username into multiple iPhone 4’s and increase your following to 5. You won’t know it, but this will be the start of your addiction.
You’re in love with the cute boy in class, you’ll follow the girl he likes. For some reason it’s okay to be friends on Instagram but to never say a word to each other in the halls. She’ll make you feel ugly. Her long hair, naval piercing, expensive clothes, and big house will make you feel less-than. You’ll never say a word to her, but each time you walk by each other you’ll know exactly what she did last night.
Slowly, more of your classmates will download the app. You’ll have about 100 followers by the time you graduate elementary school. By the time the summer arrives, you’ll be able to see what your followers are up to during all hours of the day.

You’ll think this is the next best thing. You’ll search for celebrities and extended family members. You’ll start to feel like you know your followers on a personal level that can never be achieved through physical interaction.
During that same summer, you’ll activate your twitter account and tweet every time you’re with a friend. You’ll feel the need to validate your existence. You’ll feel the need to prove to your followers that you have a life. Of course, you won’t tweet about being alone. People try to make their lives seem perfect on the internet, and you will too.
Celebrities and influencers you admire will make you question if you’re normal. They will make you question if you’re beautiful. You need to remember that you are beautiful, but you definitely aren’t normal. You’re so much better than normal, you’re different.

You’re happy, except when you’re looking at Instagram. You’re bubbly, except when you’re looking at Instagram. You’re confident, except when you’re looking at Instagram. You think you’re thin, except when you’re looking at Instagram.
You’ll have anxiety every time you post a photo in high school because you’ll need to get over 200 likes. 178 won’t do.
300 likes or more means you’re cool. It means you have so many more followers. When in reality, the girls with 350 likes are way less social than you. And they’re rude. And they only hang out with their boyfriend at lunch because they won’t bother to interact with the tangible world around them. You’ll be in clubs and on councils, you’ll have great relationships with your peers. But you still won’t feel good enough, because all that matters is getting over 200 likes. Don’t be the loser with 178.
Once you graduate high school, they’ll get rid of likes. You probably won’t notice, but you’ll be a bit happier. The pressure with subside.

You won’t see stretch marks on your Instagram feed. You’ll think that you’re some sort of alien because of them. But what you won’t see, is a video of people editing their photos.
Instagram influencers and celebrities get paid for having followers. Their money comes from being beautiful and living a fun-filled life, documenting the entire thing of course. This notion will confuse you. But just keep trying hard in school because that’s how you will become successful, my dear.
Social media is an illusion. Don’t feel pressured to look like what you see, most of it isn’t real. The sooner you realize this, the happier you’ll be. And a girl like you deserves to be happy.
Vanessa
