Instagram: Why don’t I look like that?

Repeatedly being told that Instagram is ‘fake’ and ‘unhealthy’ has probably become white noise and lost its meaning. So, how about we explore the truth behind what the so-called ‘social’ media platform has become - then you can make your own decision

You pick up your phone to check the time, it's 7:30pm and you’re about to start some work. You spot a notification that informs you: “@oneoftheaccountsyouarefollowing has just posted for the first time in a while”. You’re not interested but you click onto Instagram anyway and start scrolling through your feed. ‘She looks so cool.’ Scroll. ‘Oh, I like those.’ Scroll. ‘I wonder how he managed to do that?’ Scroll. ‘Her hair looks amazing.’ Like. Save. Scroll. ‘His shoulders are so muscular.’ Save. Like. Scroll. You look up, it’s 9:01pm, and you’ve achieved nothing - left feeling slightly flat, with little motivation.

Have you ever wondered how the platform manages to suck you in, steal your time and then spit you out feeling a little bit less adequate, yet you are still drawn back? Each of those posts has achieved what it set out to do - compete for your attention. With every scroll, another photo or video appears - each one prettier, more appealing, funnier than the last, all bidding for your engagement.

Dylan Lazurus, 33, recalls when Instagram first launched in 2010. “It was originally sold as a ‘social’ media site to stay in touch with your friends through mindlessly sharing photos such as what you saw down the street that day - like a photo journal.” He says. Dylan, began working in digital marketing nine years ago, just before the platform started to see a shift. “At first, no one was taking it seriously. But since then, Instagram has pivoted from being a social app, as it was initially branded, to now becoming an advertising platform.”

As he points out, the problem is that Instagram has a core of appearing like ‘reality’ due to its social aspect. But throwing in marketing content amongst your friends posting ‘innocent content’ misleads you into thinking it’s all real. He says: “The vast majority of it is now advertising content that’s been carefully designed to seem attractive to you - which is how the lines have become blurred.” Young people aren’t aware of this, and it’s creating a false reality for them.

“The vast majority of it is now advertising content that’s been carefully designed to seem attractive to you." - Dylan

In a recent Evolve survey, 97.3% of the 110 respondents aged between 14 and 17, said that Instagram content has had a negative impact on how they perceive their bodies. While, 88.2% of these respondents were not aware of all the work that goes into many of the posts they view on the platform, or the financial motives behind them.

The emergence of influencers has made the landscape even more confusing. As 25-year-old body-positive content creator, Alex Orr says: “They create a misleading reality by mastering the art of presenting themselves as ‘relatable people’, documenting average daily tasks but in a glorified way.” The images they present make them perfect for promoting everyday products.

“They create a misleading reality...” - Alex

Zoë Bowthorpe, a top marketing consultant, has worked with influencers who are contracted to promote all kinds of products and services via their posts. She explains: “They have teams of professionals helping them, photographers, people standing with huge metal reflectors shining sunlight onto their face, hairstylists, makeup artists, 10 different outfit options. You’d think they were doing a ‘big deal’ magazine shoot, but instead, this all goes into creating just one Instagram post, among so many others, which will be made to look almost effortless.”

Businesses have flocked to Instagram to gain access to potential customers to promote their products. According to Statista, social media advert spending is predicted to surpass £150bn by 2024. But why is this problematic?

As Dylan explains, it isn’t uncommon for businesses to pay influencers anywhere between £10,000 and £100,000 to fund the process of creating and posting a single image that often only discreetly promotes their product. With such large amounts of money at stake, influencers are going to extreme lengths to produce more ‘attractive’ content - which is raising perceptions of beauty and lifestyle norms for you as the viewer.

Sam Simpson, a person-centred counsellor who works with young people, says: “I see a lot of young people who are gaining access to images that perpetuate this myth of the ideal body. They are then trying to emulate this, which can have a direct impact on how much they like their own bodies.” She adds: “I think young people are seeing [Instagram] as a way of connecting and social networking without perhaps understanding the bigger landscape. There’s a whole industry, there's businesses and stakeholders out there investing in content and benefiting financially.”

"There’s a whole industry, there's businesses and stakeholders out there investing in content and benefiting financially.” - Sam

A few years ago, 25-year-old content creator, Lonneke Faber, fell victim to this artificial world and began attempting to alter her images using editing software. She found it difficult and time-consuming, but still failed to make the edits look realistic. This is when it suddenly dawned on her that, “these images are actually art. They take skill, effort and turn into a ‘valuable’ product, but they aren’t reality. Similar to art, they’re only an interpretation of something.”

Lonneke explains some of the other tricks that go into creating the images which seem to attract the most attention. “The power of angles is crazy. There’s often not even editing involved, it’s just about sucking in, putting the camera at a low angle, for example, pushing your bum back and pointing your toes. Anyone can pull that uncomfortable position in a photo but we forget that we don’t look like that all the time”, she says. Lonneke has since made peace with the platform and enjoys using it to promote positive ideas around health and body image. She now appreciates the beauty of these photos but reminds herself to view them within their correct context; as a form of art, probably advertising something, even if it’s just the creator’s persona.

“These images are actually art. They take skill, effort and turn into a ‘valuable’ product, but they aren’t reality. Similar to art, they’re only an interpretation of something.”- Lonneke