Make Instagram Casual Again

Almost a decade ago, a new social media platform, called Instagram, was born. Out of the blue, people from all ages began obsessing over posting photos of their delicious dinners, picturesque ice cream cones, inspirational quotes and oh-so many selfies. While it did become overkill, I found it endearing how I could almost get an inside look on the lives of the people I followed. Maybe it was because I was only ten when I got my first account on my hot pink ipod touch or maybe everything was just so much simpler in 2012. Whatever the case is, Instagram has taken a turn for the worse in this modern age of filters and face tune. Individuals no longer want to post something, unless they look perfect, and posts are now judged by look and appeal, instead of what makes them happy.

“I never post on Instagram unless I look really good,” junior Katherine Kemper said. “Everything just feels fake now.”

With the rise of social media

and “Instagram Models,” ordinary individuals can get caught up with the looks and lifestyles of their idols and the fake lives they supposedly live. The unspoken rules of Instagram state that each profile must have a certain “aesthetic” of filters for each photo that go together for an overall theme. Every single photo must have perfect lighting, edit and filter in order to convey an image of complete perfection to their audience. In other words, nowadays, if photos could talk, they would say, “Look How Much Fun I am having,” and “Look how fabulous I look ALL the time.”

“I feel so much pressure to make my instagram perfect these days,” senior Emily Walker said.
“I spend a lot of time and energy making sure everything looks nice for my followers to see, to the point where it’s not even for me anymore.”

Maybe I am overdoing it a little bit, but I am sure that at some point, everybody has come to this same conclusion. I truly believe that most of us have dressed up to go out for the sole purpose of getting an insta-worthy photo of us having a blast with our pals. Believe me, I get it.

It was sophomore year when I came to the conclusion that my instagram profile was not “vibey” or “aesthetic” like my peers’ (whatever that means) and for the next two years, I obsessed over the specific look and follower number of my account. I wanted my audience to see me as care-free, while also being effortlessly attractive and cool. I spent hours attempting to come up with the perfect caption and editing my photos to an over-grained and fair too colored look to match my other photos. Moral of the story, I am sick of it.

“I just want to look like a fun and interesting person on my Instagram,” senior Patrick Batelli said. “I put a lot of work in to make sure my followers see me as a role model, to the point where it is no longer what I want at all.”

As a society, we need to shift our focus back to the days of just posting fun photos, and escape from this self absorbed and insecure prison we are currently stuck in. Let’s just stop worrying about what our accounts look like to others and just post about things we love.

“I don’t really post the things I want to post and I post a lot of things that I feel obligated to post,” Walker said. “I want to post moments that are fun and moments with the people I love.”