My Instagram name is how a lot of people recognize me. Some people even shout it out loud when trying to get my attention for lack of knowing my actual, factual, government name, but that’s just part of the Instagram culture and the issues it creates in our generation today. In the past few years, we’ve watched Instagram takeover the social media world. It’s all about “the simpler the network the better” and a picture says a thousand words. As young adults, we’ve adopted this culture from the number of likes and followers we have, to the art of the selfie, and even advertising. Instagram is truly a force to be reckoned with but how has it affected us in our everyday lives?
Instagram has so many subcultures that consist of people who use the app solely as their portfolio, people who use it as a social media outlet to post things they like and find interesting, and unfortunately you have some people who take Instagram too far; subjecting themselves to behaviors they never would subject themselves to in real life. Everything in life has a bad side and when it comes to a social media site like Instagram it’s no different.
I took to Hampton’s campus to see what some students had to say, Trevon Parks, a senior Criminal Justice Major from PG County, Maryland said, “It’s really crazy and out of control how bad folks flex on Instagram.” That’s one of the major responses I’ve gotten from students when asking them about the nature of Instagram today. The things you see your everyday peers doing on Instagram have almost zero validity in real life. Some people take “Instagram famous” straight to the bank by the way they use their Instagram accounts. Nowadays you see almost everybody trying to portray themselves as rich and famous celebrities by having the latest clothes, shoes, accessories, and cars on their profiles. Living the lifestyle of luxury has become the goal on social media and not to say that everyone is lying but let’s be real, more than likely that Range Rover is probably your dads and your weave may be laid but is there any food in your refrigerator? These questions need answers!
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Another huge problem in the Instagram world is the lack of communication. Sophomore Nadera Harris says that people will speak to you on Instagram, but never in person. Maybe it’s just a curse that’s a part of our generation that we have no courage at all for personal, face to face communication. And that brings to the table cyberbullying. Does it only happen in grade school or does it occur adulthood, too? Mistreatment is the norm these days and the media has been a huge influence. With television shows like The Bad Girls Club and Love & Hip Hop, tension is what gets ratings and Instagram is no different.
A lot of people feel that men and women exploit themselves on social media for followers and likes. Although I am personally a firm believer in freedom and self-interest, there is a such thing as going too far. A lot of people have learned important lessons from reckless internet posting. Students have been kicked out of school and people have been fired from jobs all due to compromising behavior on social media.
What exactly does your Instagram say about you? Are you responsible? An over-achiever? A good friend? A professional in your field? Are you well known? Do you have people who love you? Think in depth about the goals you have in life and say to yourself… am I setting myself up for success? Challenge yourself online this week. Never forget, it’s more than just social media. Who you are to the world could really be @YourInstagramName.