Instagram is ruining everything (a rant)

23,245 points2,138 commentssubmitted by tinybirb16 to r/unpopularopinion28

I think that Instagram is one of the worst developments in modern culture. Let me explain:

  1. IG is the most shallow of all social media platforms. While social media platforms like twitter and sometimes even Facebook politically engage people, allow them to connect and organise Instagram is solely based on one person and their looks/life/vacation. No political or important dialogue is happening. I would argue that even Pinterest is more worthwile since at least DIYs teach you something.
  2. IG is all fake but everyone pretends that it's real. Why we are all pretty much aware from our own Instagram use that these images are usually not what our lives look like all instagram users apparently have this pact that they are just all going to believe each other's bullshit.
  3. IG is bad for your mental health. Because unrealistic standards are set on Instagram but everyone just pretends like they're real people doing real things it feels like everybody's life is the way it looks in IG. This also creates feelings of inadequacy and is therefore detrimental to especially young people's mental health. (See also this article: http://time.com/4793331/instagram-social-media-mental-health/). I also think this applies equally to women and men since the unrealistic standards concerning looks and lifestyle are more than ever directed towards both genders while they previously were more directed towards women as in e.g. advertising. Additionally, the dopamine rush people get from likes creates an almost addiction-like potential that makes them use the app more and more and making the mental health issues even more pronounced.
  4. IG makes people vain. Taking pictures of yourself all day makes you the center of your own attention and that leads to ignoring other people and the actual experience you're documenting. It's not about where you went what you ate or what incredible experience you had but only what it looked like and what you looked like doing it. This makes everybody focus more and more on their own appearance and less about things that actually make you a successful human being.
  5. IG gives the worst incentives to people. The reason I am ranting right now is that I saw a Vice video about a poppy field in California that is killed by people sitting and stepping on it to take pictures predominantly for Instagram (Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxUrr-CIgkA). They then talked to the people taking the pictures asking them why they're doing it and their answers made me incredibly angry. Some people were open about just wanting likes but some others pretended like they were really concerned about the flowers talking about "the feeling of being one with nature". So these people want to signal to others that they love nature and the beauty of it while literally destroying the natural habitat and the flowers. This shows that they really don't care about anything at all except their likes on a goddamn picture. Now I don't think that they are inherently bad people but I think that Instagram actively gives them an incentive to be this way fuelled by the addictive potential of the platform and the likes you get from it.

I would encourage anyone reading this to please examine how much time you spend on Instagram and if you get anything from it than a simple dopamine rush and feelings of inadequacy and think of what you could do that's more meaningful and actually makes you happy.

EDIT: A lot of people are posting that they follow artists, architects, blacksmiths etc. and use Instagram predominantly in a small community or niche. So just to clarify, I do think that one can use Instagram positively and get a lot of good content from it. What I wanted to point out in my post is the culture that evolved around instagram and especially individual people posting nothing but their lives. And while some of you are so blessed as to not experience this culture in your everyday lives I feel like for others the posting "cute" pictures of oneself is a crucial part of social life e.g. kids in middle/high school. I do think that every social media platform can be great since it really depends on the users and what they post. However, I feel that while some good Instagram accounts exist the majority is selfies, vacation and food pictures and that this makes some people feel that they to share this much of their lives as well.