There is no denying the popularity of Instagram and other social media platforms. A lot of people, myself included, use Instagram and other social media platforms, to communicate with friends or post pictures, and stories. Many people are also obsessed with the amount of likes or followers one has, which leads to my main topic of the blog, buying Instagram followers and likes to promote one’s image online.
I personally am not familiar with how the process of buying followers and likes work, but I have heard and seen it. The fact that there is an option to buy followers and likes just show just how obsessed most people are with their image on Instagram, as they think that more likes and followers equals a happier life.
The truth is, some of us are a little obsessed with how many likes we get for a single post or how many followers we have, and that is not necessarily a bad thing in itself, but when it gets to a stage where you feel the need to buy likes and followers then it becomes an issue.
Instagram is often used to curate a portfolio about oneself, thus, presenting an image the user wants the public to see. However, some people resort to buying followers and likes to help create a so called ‘desirable’ self image.
This leads to another reason why one might buy Instagram followers and likes, it is because the idea of becoming an Instagram influencer is a dream to some. To achieve the status of being an Instagram influencer one must have a lot of followers and likes, in order to gain the attention of the public, especially marketing brands who might help sponsor you. This gives me the impression that Instagram has become a very competitive platform, where the majority are competing against other people, for most amount of likes or followers, or best fashion choices.
Aside from buying likes and followers, Instagram in particular has also caused people especially young women to become obsessed with how they look. They look for inspirations via following Instagram influencers, and try to copy how the Influencer looks or how they behave. Sometimes the young women also develop eating disorders, as they believe that thin equals beautiful, and when they look more beautiful they will receive more Instagram likes or followers. This shows the psychological effects the digitalisation of the world through social media has, and also the amount of power platforms such as Instagram possesses. People become even more concerned with their appearance, because social media platforms are public and therefore, the ones using it are more exposed than those who don’t. The increased concern with one’s appearance often leads to eating disorders, especially when you are exposed to all these Instagrammers with perfect looking bodies and great fashion sense.
According to a survey, many young people between the ages of 14 to 24 years old have admitted that social media platforms, more specifically, Instagram, has effected the way they have perceived their own body and also led them to develop mental issues such as anxiety and depression.
Generally, despite Instagram’s popularity as a social media platform, it also proved to have a darker side where users have developed eating disorders, and also became concerned with their self image on Instagram.
References:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Instagram_Icon.png
https://sproutsocial.com/insights/why-you-should-never-buy-instagram-likes/
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