Instagram is a location to connect with friends, share memories of dances and family vacations, and even be entertained. It may seem simple, but it is often much more complicated that just picking out a picture and writing a caption. Instead, the picture is often planned before it is even taken, and then is edited further with filters and Face Tune. Finally, a caption is carefully thought out in order to get the most likes and comments. Sarah Nicole Prickett is an author and editor for the New York Times, along with various other journals and magazines. She composed a piece, “Look Out, It’s Instagram Envy,” that addresses that staging and competition that exists with Instagram. She compares Instagram today, to department stores, especially their windows. In cities such as New York City, department stores such as Saks and Macy’s create elaborate windows displaying the most expensive, and elegant items. People walking by admire the items and wish they could have the life that lent itself to purchasing the jewelry, dresses, or shoes that are shown off in glass boxes. Instagram has become the modern version of window shopping. Influencers and celebrities post pictures of their exotic trips, luxury purses and shoes, and perfect seeming relationships all of which leave follows jealous. People become envious of the happiness that is seen in pictures, the way someone looks, or the events they attend. Follows want to be just a pretty as the model or have a house that looks like that of the architect. Meals always tend to look better on the feed of a celebrity, and they can manage to make books look good. While Instagram can be a great means of connection, it can set dangerous standards and create competition. They worst part of the jealousy that can stem from Instagram, is that very little of it is true. Instagram can be staged and is only a curated snap shot of someone’s life. We need to embrace the mistakes and craziness and realize that Instagram isn’t everything. We don’t need everything we see in the windows to be happy.
I found this article on the New York Times, through The Electric Typewriter. Sarah Nicole Parker has a lot of experience in writing and style, working for the New York Times, a notable along with founding and acting as editor-in-chief of Adult, an arts and criticism magazine, she was also an editor for the magazine Real Life, and wrote for Art Form, and various other magazines. While this article was published in 2013, the facts about the role of Instagram has not changed. If anything, this issue has gotten worse, Influencers make money off of staging their Instagram feed. Parker refers to many celebrity posts in order to support her claim and has even revised her essay when new information arose a few weeks after she published her piece.
The struggle of living up to impossible standards set by Instagram is a complex issue. There is the stance that celebrities should be more honest, while others argue that people should just be grateful for what they have. Neither are the solution. I believe that a combination of science and arts can offer a solution. In particular, if people find their own interests, there is less to compare to others. If we can find what makes ourselves happy, we have less to be jealous about. In a way, Instagram is an art. Photography and editing takes skill, understanding the artistic part of feeds will increase the awareness that Instagram is only a piece of the whole picture. Additionally, if science and math can take a greater foothold in Instagram, being smart and nerdy can be just as praised as being photogenic. Additionally, staying stuck in textbooks is not the answer either. STEM embracing Instagram and the artistic parts can help connect artists and scientists. Both essays that we worked with in class, share similar ideas. Yo-Yo Ma discusses the balance and equilibrium that is needed in life, and Lehrer points how science can compliment art and vice versa. He also addresses that the best innovations, and breakthroughs result from the combination of both sides of the spectrums. The solution to the façade of Instagram is not going to come from one edge or another. Instead, it will grow from a careful mix of both.
This sounds fascinating. I’ll have to give the essay a read. I look forward to reading your paper. I encourage you to make a Venn diagram of art and Instagram. I can see how the two have some similarities, but I’m also interested in how they are different.