Instagram, Perfection, and the Construction of False Beauty
It is universally recognized that social media like Instagram is not real life. As much as we love it when the celebs ‘get real’ online about how much time it takes to take a perfect photo, how many stretch marks they have or how unspectacular the details of their life are, posts on social media like Instagram are simply dropped in the ocean of Face. Surely, all of us are digital super-sleuths (we spot and scorn undesirable Photoshop before we can say ‘double tap’ and identify false bragging in the blink of an eye). However, somehow, knowing that what a person is seeing is fake does not make it any less significant.
What is the “Instagram Face”? There is a good chance that a person already has the image in mind before finishing the question. See the likes of Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner: considerately made eyebrows, face severely contoured and tinted lips dull and plump (So Much Of Beauty Is Fake News, So Why Are We Still Sucked In?).
Social media, specifically Instagram, has long been welcomed for supporting diversity and providing a welcoming shelter from frequently uniform mass media. However, presently, individuals, especially younger girls, are increasingly determined to appear the same on Instagram and in real life.
Self-Presentation, Commercial Influence, and Digital Appearance
Just as thousands of personalities, models, organizations, companies, products, and brands use Instagram to promote themselves, we also use it to create an appearance of perfection. It is difficult not to notice a multitude of flawlessly tanned beauties with astonishingly shaped abs, seemingly endless legs, and perky, effortlessly rounded buttocks. Hundreds of thousands of accounts on Instagram endorse pictures of faultlessly sculpted women and men (Muenter).
There is a deceptive difficulty in this fake and glossy world of idealism. Hundreds of thousands of well-known people and celebrities on Instagram document their work routines, eating habits, and other aspects of their lives that influence how they appear. There is only one difficulty with social media, specifically Instagram: it is all fake (Fleming).
“For teens [in particular], looking good (as defined by norms of one’s social group and the rules of social engagement) is almost always a priority,” Dr. Pamela Rutledge, director of the Media Psychology Research Center, told The Post. “It used to be a question of not wanting to get caught out in public not looking good; the reach of what’s public has shifted.” (Instagram Is the New Beauty Standard. |)
Certainly, Instagram has increased the pressure to be “selfie-ready” most of the time and has arguably standardized our principles and definitions of beauty. “Social media is the worst thing that’s ever happened to the beauty industry,” the makeup celebrity artist Pati Dubroff expressed to the New York Times. Makeup artist Kevin James Bennett agrees that social media promotes a single aesthetic. “It’s like looking at a bunch of clones,” he told the New York Times. “They’re Botoxed, filled and surgery to look like Kim.” (“Beauty Ideals Are More Extreme Than Ever, Thanks to Instagram”)
Editing, Beauty Trends, and the Collapse of Reality Online
When it is difficult to distinguish what is fake from what is real, even the most ludicrous beauty trends—things that an ordinary person or beauty expert would normally recognize as edited or fake—can appear normal or, at the very least, possible. Take plaited eyebrows, for instance. Numerous individuals will see a photo of a French-braided eyebrow and simply think, “Well, that’s weird,” followed by perhaps asking, “Why is this happening to the world?” If any of us had ever seen somebody with eyebrow hair long enough to French-braid perfectly, it would be memorable. However, when it appears on Instagram among realistic-looking fake beauty trends, a person may occasionally fail to recognize that nobody has eyebrows that could naturally be braided. Retro. More often than not, the response “Oh, there’s no way that’s real” has turned into “Oh, wow, that’s impressive” (Moore).
Another strange and similarly unclear beauty trend emerged in 2017. Squiggle brows and squiggle lips are typically made with makeup and are actually possible to achieve in real life (unlike brow braiding). However, that is when things become unclear. Although squiggle lips and brows can look fairly natural (in a very disturbing, very worrying way) when made with makeup, they are also occasionally altered with photo-editing software such as FaceTune or Photoshop.
It is common to accuse Instagram of promoting all of these idealistic ills. I do not consider Instagram an evil social application. I like to take pictures and selfies, and mostly, I feel good about taking pictures and selfies on Instagram. Instagram created a beauty community that has a place to demonstrate its work, discuss products, and influence new product development through straightforward discussions about what users need. The majority of the studies that I have observed suggest that social media has the power to undermine beauty standards by providing a place for women whom mainstream media would typically overlook. Therefore, go ahead: scroll, double-tap, repost, take selfies, and get involved with something that is as entangled in the modern culture as sending messages or emails. Just know that a person’s mind can play tricks on them and that one’s subconscious may respond to things in a way that the conscious mind may not. Look at the women around you and recognize how attractive they are in their own ways, rather than limiting beauty to a square on a screen with controlled lighting. And take it from someone else. Once a person has seen a celeb who has hundreds of thousands of followers and is very panicky that her make-up artist could not apply renewed outline in the given time for the selfie, and nearly bursts into tears when she could not find decent and good lighting, everything appears to be less gorgeous anyway (“New Study Shows Impact of Social Media on Beauty Standards”).
Body Positivity, Recovery, and Alternative Uses of Instagram
Although numerous Instagram accounts promote the harsh beauty ideals of present society, many others aim to promote self-love and acceptance. Amalie Lee has an Instagram account that discusses body positivity and promotes a healthy outlook on food generally (Arundel).
She has posted images of ice cream, candy and real and unedited pictures of herself. She believes that dimples and stretch marks should be celebrated, not removed. She has recovered from anorexia, which she has stated was made worse by the pictures she saw on Instagram.
Her main aim is to fill the internet with truthful pictures of happy, healthy bodies. Instagram accounts like that are creating a safe and healthy space for individuals to recognize the reality behind the editing of pictures on Instagram and brand-based advertising. Instead of using social media to create a harmful culture grounded in negative self-perception, let’s strive to develop a positive attitude toward one another’s natural appearance.
Works Cited
Arundel, Maryanna. “Life Through A Filter: The Dangers Of Perceiving Instagram As Reality.” Elite Daily, https://www.elitedaily.com/life/culture/essena-oneill-instagram/1270898. Accessed 30 Nov. 2017.
“Beauty Ideals Are More Extreme Than Ever, Thanks to Instagram.” FASHION Magazine, 12 May 2016, https://fashionmagazine.com/beauty/the-new-beauty-ideal-is-a-completely-new-face-according-to-instagram/.
Fleming, Olivia. “‘Why Don’t I Look Like Her?’: How Instagram Is Ruining Our Self Esteem.” ELLE, 18 Nov. 2014, https://www.elle.com/beauty/makeup-skin-care/how-instagram-is-ruining-our-self-esteem.
Mooro, Alya. “The Rise of the Instagram Face — and How It’s Destroying Us.” New York Post, 13 June 2017, https://nypost.com/2017/06/13/the-rise-of-the-instagram-face-and-how-its-destroying-us/.
Muenter, Olivia. “Every Beauty Trend On Instagram Is Even faker Than You Think.” Bustle, https://www.bustle.com/p/every-beauty-trend-on-instagram-is-even-more-fake-than-you-think-2397820. Accessed 30 Nov. 2017.
So Much Of Beauty Is Fake News, So Why Are We Still Sucked In? https://www.refinery29.com/2017/08/170671/fake-instagram-makeup-trend. Accessed 30 Nov. 2017.
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