Self-staging on Instagram
In today’s society the Social Media become more and more important. Almost everybody by today has had some kind of contact with Social Media or has even created an account on at least one of the platforms. People use them to send out posts to not only keep their followers and friends up-to-date, but in some way to show how well they are doing, what a happy life they are living and how perfect everything is. Nobody would ever dare to write a post on Facebook or Instagram in which they are talking about their own personal fears or doubts.
Especially talking about Instagram, it has become a challenge amongst the users: Who took the best picture? Whose dinner plate looks the most delicious? Who travels in the most extravagant places? Who looks best in their selfies?
It’s all about showing off and presenting the good parts of the proper life. But honestly, why do you do this? Why has it become so important nowadays to be admired for what you post on Social Media? Why do people make so much effort in making other people believe in their perfect life?
These are questions that I ask myself and I still haven’t found a satisfying answer. Probably it’s good for people’s ego and self-esteem when you have people “liking” your pictures. It makes you become addicted the good feeling you have when people seem to appreciate what you share, which can even make you feel kind of obsessed.
While reflecting on this topic, I came across Essena O’Neill (http://www.stern.de/lifestyle/leute/instagram-model-essena-o-neill--die-traurige-wahrheit-hinter-den-bildern-6535156.html and https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/nov/04/essena-oneill-deletes-instagram-account-social-media) who reveals what it’s really like to be an Instagram model and how it feels to be obsessed with looking good in Instagram pictures. What I found particularly interesting is that in her case, the obsession of looking good and unrealistic self-presentation ended up in a real crisis of identity, defining herself with regard to the number of her followers and likes she gets. Her way out of the Instagram and Social Media business can be an inspiration for everybody to find a way back to reality, away from fake and unauthentic self-staging and the obsession to share all of their supposedly happy moments on Instagram.
