When I scroll through Instagram these days, I don’t just see content but choices. Indeed I see filters, angles, light composition, caption, hashtags and even the timing of the post means something. All these little decisions are part of the message. When I look at posts from people I know, I sometimes unconsciously judge their choices and somehow these visual choices tell me something just as much as the caption itself.
Instagram is a media that is inherently visual which gives it power. Thus, Ive noticed that the medium demands that every message have to be seen and not only said. For instance, a post about anxiety might appear in calm blues with a soft typography and a minimal composition. That aesthetic softens the weight of the message and makes it top easier to “consume” for the targeted people.
I also recently watched a video essay on YouTube titled The Aftermath of the Instagram Face, by Jordan Theresa. It explores how Instagram’s aesthetic standards : the “Instagram face”, influence how we want to look and how we present ourselves. This video truly resonated with me because it shows that even though our post might not have a clear and impactful message, we still convey a message about ourselves and how we want others to see us through our posts. It shows how we see and judge ourselves and how we want to be seen. We don’t post images but versions of ourselves optimized for the platform. But the paradox of the Instagram Face is that everyone wants to look the same, consciously or not so that means that we want to be accepted as “fitting the standards” but it results as looking the same as everyone so that would mean that we want to convey the fact that we are not unique while still conveying our own image.
The main thing that stands out to me is how we become editors of our own lives. To my mind, the visual part sometimes feels more important than the message itself and this is why the media we choose to convey a message is essential because if i say the same thing on a podcast or on X but without the visual part of Instagram then the message would be received completely differently. Even more important messages such as activists and engaged ones cannot escape it so on Instagram even activism becomes aesthetic : slogans must match a palette, visuals must engage… So it can be a pressure but also an useful and impactful way to convey a message.
In the end, Instagram does not just shape the message but it is the message. It turns feelings into visuals, stories into curated identities and communication into performance.
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