SaraThis is a topic that has been on my mind for a long time.
Have you noticed that the less dressed a person is on Instagram, the more followers/likes they seem to have? I heard that some girls felt like they had to post a sexually-explicit picture to get more likes. The saddest part is that those girls tend to attach not only their self-worth to their amount of likes/followers but also their appearance. With every like or compliment, they think they become more confident, but in reality, it’s just fleeting confidence, and the minute no one compliments them, they feel less great about themselves.
I am pretty sure a lot of us get excited when we get a lot of likes for a picture or a post because we feel seen and acknowledged. So the question is, why do we seek recognition from others? Why isn’t our approval enough? Are the women and men who post selfies daily actually very insecure?
Perhaps. It seems so.
However, there are also many benefits of being an active member of social media. Instagram, for instance, is a beautiful platform to earn money and make a positive difference. It can be meaningful for others to show ourselves to the world with all that we have. You never know what it could bring to your or someone’s life. I also don’t see an issue in posting pictures where you show a lot of skin. The main problem is that many, if not most, of the pictures, are edited. I have known a few people that looked different in real life than on their social media accounts. I see it when I take pictures. The right angle and light can make your body look so much better, whereas bad lighting and angle can make you look awkward. It portrays beings without any flaws, and it can be unhealthy for the viewing person. Also, men’s unhealthy lust can be driven by it because, in day-to-day life, you rarely see someone that looks like that in these pictures. On the contrary, other women tend to feel insecure and even ugly because they compare themselves to those “perfect-looking” girls. But let’s be honest; If you, as a woman or man, have a fulfilling life and high self-esteem, do you feel like posting selfies every day?
Which brings me to the question: Are we becoming more self-absorbed with the rise of selfies? Or is it normal that sex sells because of our natural instincts?
I think that to stop the harm; we need to talk about it more openly and address it more broadly. Perhaps more transparency, as well as authenticity, would be the first step toward improvement. I am curious about how social media will transform in the future. I hope it becomes less superficial because it makes me sad to see many relationships/users struggle or even break because of it.
