The Ultimate "Highlight Reel"... Or Is It?

EOTO Presentation: How Instagram Is Changing The World

Instagram — one of the top five largest and most used social media apps that has changed the world of communication completely... quite literally. When doing our EOTO presentations, there is more to Instagram than I realize. Used by many of all ages around the world, Instagram has become a "safe space," as some would say, for its users to post their lives away, ultimately portraying what their friends, family, or anyone, would want to see, as people are "living their best life." Not only has Instagram become extremely popular within the last decade, but it has also completely shifted and changed the way we communicate with one another, for several different reasons. Of this apps' two billion users, we often only see what we want to see — a highlight reel.

    Instagram, even from its birth, has quickly become one of the most popular social media applications today. It was originally launched in 2010 by a man named Kevin Systrom, a 27-year-old Stanford University graduate. Though he had little experience in computer science and had previously worked for Google in 2009, he was determined to learn code on nights during the weekends. Eventually, his ideas came to life and he launched a prototype of a web app called "Burbn," a spark of his love for fine whiskey and bourbons. This app originally had intentions to become a space where its users could post pictures of their lives, their plans, and to simply check-in with family and friends from around the world. Launched on October 6, 2010, Systrom was able to rack-up roughly 25,000 users in one day. Now, just twelve years later, Instagram has over billions of active users monthly, with 995 pictures being posted every second. 

    Because of the extreme success of this app over the past few years, it has completely changed the way we communicate as a society today. Its users can post whatever they want, majority of the time, whether that'd be world news, traveling to one's favorite places, their daily life at home, spending time with friends, etc. Instagram has easily become known as a media platform that only shares these extreme high-highs, and never the low-lows. Users can post whatever they want, whenever they want, for whoever they want. Over time, it has evolved into a place that is no longer safe for most, despite its benefits to society. 

Insta's Impacts on My Life:

    "I wish I looked like her," my thoughts say to me, or "I want to travel like them and live their life..." These are, unfortunately, normal occurrences I have to myself when checking my daily Instagram feed. Unfortunately, one of the biggest down falls to social media in general is its effects on mental health. One example of this was a good friend of mine named Cheslie Kryst. Not only was Cheslie extremely successful in the world, but she was simply human and disguised her depression to over 600,000 followers on Instagram as well as other media platforms. Kryst, a 30-year-old former Miss USA in 2019, jumped from her New York City apartment building the morning of January 30, 2022... this is a day I will truly never forget. My heart sank in my chest when I received a call from my mom saying, "Maddie, Cheslie jumped from her apartment building." I've known Cheslie personally for almost 7 years; she was Miss Metrolina while my sister, McKenzie Faggart, was Miss Queen City in 2015. Both McKenzie and Cheslie were headed to the Miss North Carolina Pageant in June of that year, and I was able to spend much time with Cheslie and get to know her... a lot. 

Kryst's last post and day of her passing 

       I considered (and still very much do) Cheslie one of my biggest mentors in life, but that year in particular, she inspired me in so many ways throughout my daily life. Not only was she a "beauty queen," but she was a track star at the University of South Carolina, a host for ExtraTV, an attorney who graduated from Wake Forest University Law, an entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and so much more. Cheslie was everything anyone wanted to be: successful. "She had it all," some say, or "how could she do something like that?" Well, with social media being the ultimate highlight reel, no one, other than family members, knew exactly what Kryst was experiencing. And that, my friends, is why social media is actually terrifying; it is so easy to cover up, not only one's emotions, but the reality of life and our daily struggles. Cheslie was such a beautiful soul who impacted so many... and we, as a society, cannot continue to let these highlights determine our own self-worth. Cheslie's passing has enlightened the world around us in creating more effective ways to use social media in more healthy ways. It is vital, to any and every user, that we take initiative to use social media, especially Instagram, to post our worst days, too, and to remind those around us that not even filters or extreme editing can ever hide the reality behind our cameras. 

    Sorry for the sappy text... but, it's very true. Social media can be a scary place if used incorrectly. There were many things that Cheslie struggled with, as her mom explains through her posts on Instagram and Facebook, and social media only ignited the fire in Cheslie's mind. However, on the other side of Instagram, social media can also impact our world positively, too. For example, it allows us to stay connected to the world around us. It is so cool to think how some of my closest friends all live in other states such as Tennessee, Colorado, Florida, and even California, however, I am able to see what they're doing in their lives and stay in touch with them from North Carolina. Instagram has also been a place for creativity for me as well. I've been able to make separate accounts from my personal one that promote my dance experiences, as I will be able to show judges what I've been apart of in the dance world in future auditions. I can also post where I travel, what I'm eating, who I'm with, or even encouraging quotes throughout the day as well. This, for me, is why I love being on Instagram, despite its negative effects: it's fun and creative. 

How We Can Change:

    So, what does all of this mean, one might ask? The answer is simple: learning to use social media effectively, not harshly. We can prevent cyberbullying, comparison, the lowering of self-worth, and so much more, by being smart and effective with how we use our media platforms. Instagram has not only changed the way we communicate with one another, but it has changed how we see the world. For years to come, it is so important that media users remain to be wise with what they feed to their eyes, be smart with their words and how they treat others, and to not become addicted to the media, how many likes they can get on a single post, or who they're trying to impress... in the Digital Age, communication will only continue to see its peak if we are careful with what we post. Because in reality, nothing can ever be perfect in a highlight reel!

 

References:

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/102615/story-instagram-rise-1-photo0sharing-app.asp

https://extratv.com/2022/01/30/cheslie-kryst-dies-extra-miss-usa/

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2022/03/feature-minimize-instagram-effects