"The warped self-perception and the lengths we go to curate a 'perfect' virtual self."
Curating our best online selves has become a priority, with 60 million images uploaded to Instagram every day, it appears we all try to find a version of ourselves that gets the most ‘likes.'
With blemish apps and slimming tools; promotion and PR companies swarming around, I ponder the question is any of this real? Is the version of yourself popping Prosecco, partying and pouting legitimate? Was the club really that cray? or did you blur your selfie to make you look 'crunk as'.
Research from the University of Buffalo indicates that women who base their self-worth on their appearance are likely to post more pictures of themselves on social media seeking validation.
“Social media is definitely something that is setting models apart because it makes someone relatable,” Gigi Hadid (1.6 million Instagram followers) But just how relatable is it to be working out with your trainer 6 days a week, getting your nails done everyday and jetting of to Malan and Mubai every other day. With comments such as #goallife and "i wish I was you" sets unrealistic expectations of what life can be, and followers become dissatisfied with their own exhistance.
Insta girls posing on beaches and promoting teeth whitening looks like the ideal lifestyle right? Getting payed to post pics of drinking juice and eating brunch?
But when 19 year old insta-idol and lifestyle guru Essena O'Neill (612,000 IG followers) quit Instagram due to claims that social media 'is not real life' it's questioned how perfect up-keeping a perfect image is.
On 27 October O'Neill deleted over 2,000 pictures “that served no real purpose other than self-promotion”, editing the captions to leave 96 posts in a bid to to reveal the manipulation, and insecurities she has behind them.
Some of us are experiencing feelings of insecurities and 'serious fomo' when looking at these girls lives."People are publicising usually something really cool or fun that they’re doing, or at least they make it appear that way. I absolutely feel insecure."
People feel pressured to look good purely for social media. Living in a cyber world where they exist souly for a thumbs up. "I would never post a photo that wasn’t flattering of me."
"I feel anxiety over how many likes I get after I post a picture. "
"Id defiantly delete a photo if it didn’t get enough likes."
Although some insta-famous people use there powers of promo for good, such as spreading awareness for examples like LGBT and feminism and veganism, others are publishing plastic lifes that are leaving some of us feel lack luster and unappealing.
the truth behind the filter is that not everything is at it seems, nobody's life is perfect and you cant believe everything you see through12 little edited squares.
