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Aidan Anderson

Mrs. Forbes

College Comp and Research

15 October 2020

The Fake World of Instagram

Lousie Hart, a Danish musician, spoke about mental health proclaiming that “Self-esteem

is as important to our well-being as legs are to a table. It is essential for physical and mental

health and for happiness” ("Louise Hart Quotes"). One main source of poor mental health comes

from social media such as Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat. ​John Paul Titlow, author of

“#Me: Instagram Narcissism and the Scourge of the Selfie,” conversed about the discouragement

and negativity that Instagram creates (122-124). Instagram does bring discouragement and

negativity to our minds because we see the stereotypical bodies every day . Photoshop is a major

concern nowadays. It makes people, especially teenagers, think that they are supposed to be

exactly like that. It makes fake things, such as people and photos, become a reality and

everyone believes it. Instagram overuse can cause discouragement, addiction, and bad choices.

Instagram is one of the most-used social media platforms on the web, which would not be

such a problem if some posters did not cause discouragement for viewers. One Instagram user

who causes viewer discouragement is Kim Kardashian-West. ​Kardashian-West has 189 Million

followers and 5,276 posts, many of which are nearly nude photos. ​These nearly nude photos

negatively influence some viewers who think they need to look exactly like Kardashian-West.

She's changing stereotypes and promoting self-change by telling everyone to buy her makeup
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and her SKIMS clothing. Looking at the comments on some of her posts, it seems that

Kardashian only sells clothing for her own body type. A user by the name hotpie74 commented

on a post about Kim talking about her new SKIMS line, saying, “What a shame it’s not suitable

for small frames people. Especially those who aren’t big breasted but make up for it in the trunk

area like myself. But I love everything you guys have created. Awesome work.” This is making

women who do not meet the standards of SKIMS sizes unhappy and making them continue to

follow her for inspiration. Young women are obsessing about how they look because of the posts

they see all over Instagram. It is bringing so much discouragement to our world, causing it to

continuously change.

In addition to discouraging users, Instagram also leads to addictiveness. Viewers on

Instagram can become addicted to scrolling and liking posts but can also be addicted to posting.

Kardashian-West is one of those people. She posts every other day and even likes her own posts.

She is so addicted to Instagram that she has several accounts for her different makeup and

clothing lines. ​She users each of her accounts to comment on the posts on her main page​ t​ elling

her how pretty she looks and how good her products are. Some may look at that as an

advertisement, but some may look at it as being self-serving and having signs of obsessional

behavior. While Kim posts these pictures every day, she does post nearly nude photos that

younger viewers can see.

Instagram overuse leads to sexualization, and young viewers who see these sexualized

posts can make bad choices trying to imitate sexual posts. ​If users look at Kardashian-West's

tagged photos, a bunch of nude photos appears on other girl’s accounts. Girls are taking these

pictures and posting them with Kim as their “inspiration.”​ ​It includes adults, teens, and even
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younger kids! Posting these kinds of images affects a person's whole life. For example, a senior

in high school is applying to college, and if that college looks her up on Instagram and sees a

nude photo, they will most likely turn her down because it is showing that she does not take her

social media image seriously.

With all of the famous models, actors, and actresses on Instagram, such as Kim

Kardashian-West. Instagram can cause disheartenment, addiction, and poor decision-making. It

exposes kids and teens to discouraging and unrealistic content that may cause changes in mental

health over time. The more they are on these social media platforms, the more they see these

unrealistic images, which can cause a change in personality and health.

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Works Cited

@hotpie74. Comment on @kimkardashian “I’m wearing the @skims NAKED Everyday

Plunge…,” ​Instagram​.

http://www.instagram.com/p/B8-YvXIAIqU/?igshid=1igfdko1eowa1.

"Louise Hart Quotes." ​Brainyquote​, 2020,

https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/louise-hart-quotes.

@kimkardashian. “I’m wearing the @skims NAKED Everyday Plunge….” ​Instagram​, 24 Feb

2020, http://www.instagram.com/p/B8-YvXIAIqU/?igshid=1igfdko1eowa1.