Carlie Pracht
Lantern Staff
Social media is constantly evolving, and with this can come detrimental side effects. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram can be great ways to build connections with people and stay in touch with loved ones, but it can also make life look completely unrealistic which can be extremely harmful to the human mind. I have often found myself feeling inadequate to the luxurious lifestyles and perfect bodies that are constantly being flaunted on these social media platforms, even when I know that they are most likely fabricated or edited to give off the illusion of perfection. Why can’t I stop comparing myself to these celebrities who have plastic surgery, Botox and expensive high quality makeup products at their fingertips? It’s clearly an unfair comparison, but I can’t help but compare my flaws to their strengths.
Instagram has reportedly been discussing hiding the like and follow count features. If this change occurred, only the user who posted the photo would be able to see who liked the photo along with the number of likes. This could eventually be beneficial for the mental health of many people who have become obsessed with comparing their like and follower count to others. There is too much pressure to look good and be the best in this world, instead of simply enjoying yourself and sharing that enjoyment with others. Social media should be a place where you share the good and the bad, so that there is a realistic image of what life is, and not convincing people that your life is a fairytale and their’s isn’t.
This feature could potentially solve issues like this, but it also brings up the question of how it would affect those who make a living off of social media. It is no secret that many popular social media influencers are paid by advertisers to promote their products. The Kardashians are frequently posting images of themselves promoting products such as detox teas and other products that aid in weight loss. While the Kardashians would not have much trouble making money without these payments, there are others who make the majority of their money in this format and would struggle if they lost this form of income. These advertisers choose people with large followings and they make money off of having a lot of likes on their posts if those were unable to be seen. It is easy to assume those people would have a difficult time finding sponsors and advertisers to hire them and they would lose a large part of their income.
At the end of the day, I don’t know if removing the like and follow count is the best answer, but I do know that we need to stop posting only about the good in our life and start accepting that we aren’t perfect and we don’t need to be. We should not have to compare our imperfect lives to the seemingly perfect ones on social media that are most likely fabricated.
