Sydney Friedman

10/24/17
Period 7
Instagram Models: Perception vs. Reality

I hate the fact that some people get judged for being real while others get loved for

being fake,stated by an unknown author. Instagram models post photos of themselves that

are edited making the pictures perfect. People then perceive them as they want to be

perceived from the photo. In reality they have problems and real lives that arent all about

instagram. People perceive instagram models as happy, beautiful, and want to be like them,

but they are normal people like everyone else. This makes reality non obtainable for everyone

else because they want the same lifestyle as them but they arent going to get it.

Michelle Linker was an instagram model. She spoke about instagram as though she

was obsessed with getting a certain amount of likes, she got anxiety over it. But nobody knew

about these emotions all the people that saw the photos thought she was beautiful and

perfect. Michelle says, I do feel a pressure to look particularly good. I would never post a

photo that wasnt flattering of me. I feel anxiety over how many likes I get after I post a

picture. If I get two likes, I feel like, whats wrong with me? (Gajanan). She has real feelings

just like everyone else but nobody realizes this. All the people think, are that shes pretty and

they want to be just like her. Since people have this distorted sense of reality they forget she

is a real person with real feelings and they make comments about her not realizing she gets

anxiety over it.

Not only do they have feelings like us they also have bad medical issues because of

their instagram model status. Instagram models use photoshop to represent the most


beautiful versions of themselves. These photoshop issues are leading to eating disorders and

bad medical problems. Women see the photos these instagram models post and try to reach

an unattainable look like them. Medical associates are frightened at what might happen if this

goes on. For example, the American Medical Association (AMA) recently announced it was

taking a stand against image manipulation in advertising, stating that alterations made

through processes like Photoshop can contribute to unrealistic body image expectations,

eating disorders and other emotional problems (Diller). People expect themselves to have

the same body image just like these instagram models.

Like it said before instagram does lead to self esteem issues because people feel like

their bodies arent as good as the instagram model. It also says in the text that reality is

distorted for them because all they want is to be just as pretty as the model. Instagram

draws young women to compare themselves against unrealistic, largely curated, filtered and

Photoshopped versions of reality, said Matt Keracher, author of the report...Instagram easily

makes girls and women feel as if their bodies aren't good enough as people add filters and

edit their pictures in order for them to look 'perfect (Fox). Instagram models lives are

unhappy because they are always worrying about how they look in their photos and they

dont see the bigger picture of life and even social media.

Instagram models should be able to express themselves however they choose on the

internet and in real life. It is a right for everyone, stating, the right to free expression and

free association, which means that the government does not have the right to forbid us from

saying what we like and writing what we like; we can form clubs and organizations, and take

part in demonstrations and rallies. (Your right to free expression). As you can see the


government and anyone else can not stop any person from expressing themselves in the ways

they choose. Yes, some might think that instagram models should be able to express

themselves however they choose. However, they shouldnt because when they post a picture

it isnt just about them expressing themselves it makes other women feel self conscious and it

affects the whole world on a global scale. The photoshop experiment shows, cultural divides,

it seems, make it impossible to even identify what might be considered universally beautiful,

much less aspire to it...Photoshop allows us to achieve our unobtainable standards of beauty,

but when we compare those standards on a global scale, achieving the ideal remains all the

more illusive. (Cade). People try to obtain these unachievable standards of beauty and then

they post it for the whole world to see. This not only affects them but it affects how other

people see themselves. So instagram models should express themselves in a friendly way for

everyone watching.

Instagram models have far from perfect lives because everyone is imperfect.

Instagram models can be perceived as people with perfect lives, and happy futures but in

reality they are unhappy and create a society where they make themselves and other people

self conscious and have self esteem issues. If instagram models keep showing themselves off

to our society and mainly the women in our society and communities, the future of women

will suffer and there will be millions of more cases of self esteem issues.

Works Cited

Cade. Photoshop Experiment: 1 Photograph, 27 Countries, 27 Definitions of 'Beautiful'. PetaPixel, 27

June 2014,

petapixel.com/2014/06/26/photoshop-experiment-1-photograph-27-countries-27-definitions-beau

tiful/.

Diller, Ph.D. Vivian. Is Photoshop Destroying America's Body Image? The Huffington Post,

TheHuffingtonPost.com, 7 July 2011,

www.huffingtonpost.com/vivian-diller-phd/photoshop-body-image_b_891095.html.

Fox, Kara. Instagram Worst App for Young People's Mental Health. CNN, Cable News Network, 19

May 2017,

www.cnn.com/2017/05/19/health/instagram-worst-social-network-app-young-people-mental-hea

lth/index.html.


Gajanan, Mahita. Young Women on Instagram and Self-Esteem: 'I Absolutely Feel Insecure'. The

Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 4 Nov. 2015,

www.theguardian.com/media/2015/nov/04/instagram-young-women-self-esteem-essena-oneill.

Your Right to Free Expression. American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU,

www.aclu.org/other/your-right-free-expression.

STANDARD 1 2 3 4
Standard Not Met Approaching Standard Standard Met Exceeding Standard

W.8.1.A - Writing
Introduce claim(s),
acknowledge and
distinguish the claim(s)
from alternate or opposing
claims, and organize the
reasons and evidence
logically.
Introduced the claim(s). Introduced the claim(s)
acknowledge alternate or
opposing claims.
Introduced the claim(s), Student has submitted
acknowledging and work that has
distinguishing the surpassed the grade
claim(s) from alternate or level standard.
opposing claims.

W.8.1.B - Writing
Support claim(s) with
logical reasoning and
relevant evidence, using
accurate, credible sources
and demonstrating an
understanding of the topic
or text.
Provided evidence that Provided evidence that Organized the reasons and Student has submitted
was not relevant or was sometimes relevant, evidence clearly and work that has
logical or was from logical, and credible. logically. Used evidence surpassed the grade
sources that were not that was logical, relevant, level standard.
credible. and credible.

W.8.1.C - Writing Used words, phrases, Used words, phrases, and Used words, phrases, and Student has submitted
Use words, phrases, and and clauses to suggest clauses to create cohesion clauses to create strong work that has
clauses to create cohesion how the reasons and clearly show how the cohesion and very clearly surpassed the grade
and clarify the support the claim(s). reasons support the show how the reasons level standard.
relationships among claim(s). support the claim(s)
claim(s), counterclaims, counterclaims, reasons,
reasons, and evidence. and evidence.


W.8.1.D - Writing Struggled to maintain a Writing was mostly Writing was formal and Student has submitted
Establish and maintain a formal style. Provided formal and clear. clear. Provided a work that has
formal style. a conclusion that Provided a conclusion conclusion that followed surpassed the grade
related to the that followed the and supported the level standard.
arguments. arguments. arguments presented.

W.8.1.E - Writing Provided a concluding Provided a concluding Provided a concluding Student has submitted
Provide a concluding statement or section statement or section that statement or section that work that has
statement or section that that related to the follows from the follows from and supports surpassed the grade
follows from and supports argument presented but argument presented. the argument presented. level standard.
the argument presented. did not contribute to
the argument.

L.8.2: Language Struggled to show a
Demonstrate command of basic understanding of
the conventions of
the conventions of
standard English
standard English capitalization,
capitalization, punctuation, punctuation, and
and spelling when writing. spelling when writing.
Demonstrated a basic Demonstrated command Student has submitted
command of the of the conventions of work that has
conventions of standard standard English surpassed the grade
English capitalization, capitalization, level standard.
punctuation, and spelling punctuation, and spelling
when writing. when writing.