Blog Post #3: Instagram's Transformation from Photography to Marketing by Stella Aisenshtat
The Guardian article titled "Facebook aware of Instagram's harmful effect on teenage girls, leak reveals" speaks to the negative impact social media platforms have on teenagers, specifically girls. According to this article, the main issue causing depression and anxiety among Instagram users is what Facebook data scientists call "social comparison". I briefly mentioned this in my last blog post, how "Influencers" portray a false image of reality that pushes an unattainable standard of beauty and life by altering the shared truth of popular culture.
Baym discusses four perspectives on the relationship between technology and society, all of which can help us further understand the anxiety about the interactive nature of social media as evidenced in the aforementioned Guardian article. Namely, the perspective of the social shaping of technology. In other words, technologies have the potential to force change upon society but, simultaneously, individuals have the power to influence technology.
Instagram and its core function have shifted from simply being a photo sharing app among friends to what is essentially a marketing tool. As more people became famous on social media for blogging and sharing their lives online there was a significant increase in the brand deals that would fund their videos, which influenced them to portray, and market, a desirable lifestyle either by pushing products such as "fit tea" or by showing off their opulent homes, to name a few, in order to make money. It is not surprising that comparing ourselves to other Instagram users has negative consequences on our well-being.
I really enjoyed reading your post! You did a great job with the use of images to further explain Baym’s claim of how simultaneously, individuals have the power to influence technology additional to technology forcing change as well. As you mentioned, how Instagram has shifted from simply being a photo sharing app to a platform where marketing occurs. Similarly, TikTok has shifted similarly to Instagram as there are an abundance of influencers promoting brands, products, and services. Additionally, I would argue that TikTok has taken Instagram marketing to the next step, as people are more inclined to be persuaded as they are gaining deeper insights into one's life. Furthermore, influencers who have become popular have built a strong following where followers feel a connection, which then leads to more influence.
ReplyDeleteHey, I also read that article as well and I do agree with how the main argument in this article is "social comparison". I love the example, you gave of Kylie Jenner as she is somewhat a big social media influencer among many individuals around the world today. In general from what I have noticed and read from the in-class readings, young individuals can tend to be heavily influenced by what people post on social media.Additionally, I agree with your perspective on how technology can impact many people because social media platforms like Instagram can present idealized version of what people should look like.
ReplyDeleteGreat Job!
- Irene Yang
https://sites.psu.edu/kwatsoncomm/tiktok-as-a-persuasive-channel/ here is a article that goes even further explaining how this free form layout (TikTok) has allowed for user to express themselves with the emergence of marketing!
ReplyDeleteHey, great post! I completely agree that so many celebrities are pushing products onto their followers and often times these products have to do with beauty and diet culture. This can be harmful since if you look up to a celebrity such as Kylie Jenner you may be persuaded to buy a product she is endorsing such as fit tea in order to look like her. However, many people often forget that the products that celebrities endorse they sometimes don't even use. As well, I remember a couple years ago Instagram did not require users to disclose on their posts whether it was an ad or not. This caused lots of controversy since it was unclear to users if they were getting paid to post these products or if they genuinely were fans of the products. Now Instagram requires users to state in their post if they are advertising a product and getting paid for it which defiantly helps consumers to make more informed decisions.
ReplyDeleteHey! I really liked this post, I think you're right with how Instagram has changed from an app where people only shared photo's from their lives and how it has really turned into a heavily marketed app where influencers will promote whatever they have gotten a brand deal for.
ReplyDeleteHi, I really like this post and how you address the shift in Instagram from a social media site to a marketing platform. I definitely have noticed this as I've had instagram for almost 10 years and have noticed the shift overtime. This shift is definitely due to influencers and I agree that Kylie Jenner has played a large role here as well as the rest of the Kardashians. While paid ads used to not need to be stated, which made it more cohesive with the rest of the content on Instagram, the acknowledgement of paid ads has caused Instagram to be more of a marketing tool.
ReplyDeleteHey, I enjoyed reading your post! I really like how you talked about the fit tea collaborations with these celebrities because all they care about making money rather than focusing on what the important message should be spread. Which is to push that you do not need something like the Fit Tea product to be beautiful. You are right, Instagram was a great tool for photo sharing but now it has become a place with high beauty standards and unattainable bodies. If only these models, influencers or celebrities showed their true selves it would help young girls with their self images.
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