ELIJAH CROSS

EN 101

Analysis Essay

17 October 2019

“Star” of Instagram

Is Instagram and other social media bad for people's mental health? Instagram, Snapchat,

Twitter, etc. could all be terrible for people's mental health for many reasons. In John Paul

Titlow’s essay, “#Me: Instagram Narcissism and the Scourge of the Selfie,” he discusses the

positive and negative impacts of social media. While there are benefits to social media, social

media is overall bad for our mental health. Social media is bad for our mental health by posters

“faking” their pictures to make themselves look better, users constantly comparing themselves to

the posters, and users feeling negatively towards their bodies. Posters “fake” their photos on

social media by using filters and other tools to make them look better, users constantly compare

themselves to others instead of focusing on themselves, and users can feel negative towards their

bodies

When people post pictures on instagram, they typically edit their pictures to make

themselves look better. Jeffree Star, CEO of Jeffree Star Cosmetics, constantly posts pictures on

Instagram of himself that make him look better than he would without editing his photos (Star,

“CRY ME A RIVER.” 16 Jan. 2020). People should always feel comfortable with the way they

look even without a filter or having to do anything extra to make themselves look better. Even

with a large amount of followers, Star still feels the need to add filters and makeup when posting

pictures to make himself look better in others’ eyes so that he can grow a larger fan base.
Another reason people edit their pictures so strongly is to get more likes and followers, which

Star has succeeded in; he has 14.5 million followers on Instagram. Posters also will use makeup

to get rid of blemishes and make their faces more defined, giving them a “perfect look.” Since

Star is the CEO of his own makeup company, he tends to always be wearing makeup in his

pictures and rarely posts pictures of himself without makeup.

Along with faking their pictures, posters like to post their expensive items on social

media to show it off. Star has a large car collection that he posts about frequently. People tend to

see these types of luxuries and wish that they could have what that person has instead of doing

their own thing and focusing on themselves. This leads to stress which could possibly lead to

depression by making them feel like their lives aren’t good enough because they don’t have the

same lifestyle these millionaires do (Star, “FACEBOOK VS TWITTER.” 10 Dec. 2019). People

see these types of things and think that these people have it perfect and have no problems, which

is not true, they just do not post the bad things in their lives. Posters seem to only post things that

make it seem like their lives are stress and problem free, they use it as their “highlight reel.”

Star also has several pictures of himself showing off his body. Body shaming has always

been a big deal, especially in teens’ lives. Social media is the main cause of this because people

like Star post on social media showing off their bodies quite frequently. People might see these

things and wish they had that type of body but know it’s not possible without spending a

ridiculous amount of money on a surgery. Star also has his whole body covered in tattoos and

has had multiple surgeries, including gender surgery, lip surgery, hair surgery and teeth surgery

(Star, “TATTOOED BARBIE.” 23 Apr. 2019). Social media is a great way for people to see

who they want to be but not who they are. Some might argue that social media is good for
society because it motivates people to step out of their comfort zone and change their lives for

the better. This could be true, if posters didn’t use filters and even go to the extent of getting

surgeries to change their bodies.

Some might argue that social media is good for society. Yes, it can be beneficial in some

instances, such as promoting a business or by giving a person a place to post their opinion on

something, but social media overall is bad for mental health, especially in teens. Posters tend to

fake their pictures and only post the good things in their lives and that is why we compare

ourselves to other people. They make users wish that they were them and that they had the life

that everyone sees as flawless. In the end we tend to beat ourselves up and look down on

ourselves. Social media causes more harm than it does good.

 Works Cited

Star, Jeffree. “CRY ME A RIVER.”​ Instagram.​ 16 Jan. 2020

“Star, Jeffree. “FACEBOOK VS TWITTER”​ Instagram.​ 10 Dec. 2019

“Star, Jeffree. “TATTOOED BARBIE.” ​Instagram. ​23 Apr. 2019