photo from Meg DeMarsh's personal Instagram
Meg DeMarsh @megdemarsh
I would like to start off by talking about how I personally use Instagram and my intentions for the platform. I don’t love social media, but I do love scrapbooks. And I think this is the primary reason why I love this platform. My page is a digital scrapbook. It combines the people I love and the places I’ve been to create a digital repository of my life (which I’m sure the “higher-ups” of Instagram would love to hear). But I also understand that although I intend to use the platform as a vehicle of remembrance, my mere engagement with Instagram places me in the debate of how I represent myself online.
As I was scrolling through my page, I realized that my pictures, although I posted them as ways of collecting and I suppose inadvertedntly “publicizing” the people that I love, could be read as being fairly “basic.” What do I mean by “basic?” Social terminology, such as this, originated in the era of increased social media usage, where the expectation of what someone was going to post online turned into a form of social stereotyping. Basic is defined by Urban Dictionary, and as this is a project about social media presence in relation to a curated sense of authenticity I feel this is a valid source, as: "someone devoid of defining characteristics that might make a person interesting, extraordinary, or just simply worth devoting time or attention to" ('basic'). In other words, success on Instagram as a platform is dependent upon the erasure of your own identity. It is dependent upon conformity as a formulation of social capital. I am interested in how Instagram operates as a mechanism to connect with other people but how this process of externalization may ironically lead to self-depletion/distortion. My personal intention for the platform is therefore diminished, as the visual becomes the method of communication. And when the visual lends itself to a narrative of common themes found in Instagram feeds and pages, the person can become that which is projected upon their page. In other words, I don't consider myself "devoid of defining characteristics." But due to the nature of my page, which conforms to many cliches of the platform: being the inclusion of fairly formulaic photos of my friends and myself, I become what others view. I therefore lose control of my narration, and my intention for the platform, as it is appropriated to a single definition and a single story. This is the problem with romanticizing Instagram as a form of narratology, as I do in the prior paragraph.
"Basic." Urban Dictionary, 2019. https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Basic.
Celia Herdic @celia.a.her
I got Instagram in high school our of peer pressure. I was the only one out of my friends who didn’t have an instagram so I could never get tagged in pictures whenever we took pictures together. Because I didn’t have any online presence, it was as though I didn’t exist and it felt as though I had to catch up with the rest of the world.
Once I got it, my friends told me ‘the rules’ of instagram-- the unspoken rules of instagram. 1. Don’t post two times on the same day. 2. Don’t do two selfies right next to each other. 3. Don’t make your captions too long. 3. You should follow people back if you know them, if you don’t it’s offensive (and the list goes on).
Immediately when I encountered these ‘rules’, I knew I was not going to do it. It felt fake and it felt like too much to keep up with so I used it differently. I used it as an opportunity to show things that I thought were pretty. Whether it was a flower or a sunset or whatever, I took time out of my day to acknowledge it through a pictures and even though I probably didn’t even get 10 likes it was good enough for me. As time went on, I began to post more pictures and my interest in photography really developed and it became a daily thing of posting and editing a picture. As this passion developed, so did my captions. I talked about things that have been on my mind or quotes that have really stuck out to me. I manifested my page as a space for vulnerability and reflection and posting became a therapeutic practice for me.
As time went on and I got more followers people would always come up to me and be like “Celia, I love your instagram!”. Although I did definitely take it as a compliment, it also materialized the idea of people watching me. Before when I didn’t have many followers, I didn’t really think about what I posted, but as more followers came I found myself thinking more and more about who sees my content. Additionally, thoughts came about personal branding. I found myself subconsciously branding myself and although this brand I created for myself felt authentic, it also felt strange because this instagram is only ONE angle to me and sometimes I wondered and still wonder if people understand that.
In the past, I would post every single day (crazy right?!) but now, I find myself only posting occasionally, when I especially feel like it. I love going through my old pictures from when I was abroad and reflecting on my past experiences. Although Instagram has its downfalls, it is a great way to preserve past experiences, thoughts, and ideas to see how one has changed over time and this platform has definitely done that for me.
Sara Hanahan @shanahanahan
I feel that Instagram is a platform that changes so much with time and cannot be defined in its ways because of this. I joined the Instagram community approximately 6 years ago, when I was a freshman in high school. At the time I joined, I never thought too much about what I posted. If I liked a picture, I would post it. It was as simple as that. The first few pictures I posted were very wholesome and representative of myself and the people whom I chose to surround myself with. I would post both photos I liked but also moments I loved.
However, the longer I had the app; I started to understand the way I was “supposed” to use Instagram. I then started posting photos from special events, when I was composed, having a good time, and I wasn’t doing anything dumb. I then went through a phase where everything on my feed had a blue element in it, making my feed more “aesthetically pleasing.” I then moved on to a more retro theme, which seemed to make my feed look like I was having more fun, was always happy, and was constantly travelling (rather than studying). I was never intending to create a false perception of my life via my Instagram profile. I just rather became more critical of the photos I was in, and what I wanted other people to see, what part of myself I wanted everyone to see, and somehow, what I post is what I felt was the best representative of this.
Ella Grossman (@sporkpork and @ellaenchatme)
My Instagram presence would be split into two accounts my Rinsta, Real Instagram, and my Finsta, “Fake” Instagram. My Finsta started as a place to keep all of my posts I wouldn’t want my parents to see but it has evolved into a humble brag of the times I go out and may get a lil out of control. Both of my accounts are private; the original reason for my first account to go private was that I worked at a summer camp and it was a rule to not give campers access to our social media accounts. They are private now because I like to have control over who can see my photos.
To be quite honest I do not post very often to either account. Yet, I have felt such an urge to do so recently. My most recent posts have been two months apart rather than the six-month average between the rest of them.
I think both accounts represent how I take pictures. I am not the type of girl to go to an event and take a picture with the squad very often, and even less so of just myself. I have been talking for years about taking a picture to replace my Facebook Profile Picture but have never gotten around to it. However, my habits were not always defined like this, I noticed a few years ago that if one goes a certain amount between posts that they will notify everyone who follows you when you post next. It got in my head and I started sticking to that schedule for a while.
Yet, not posting does not necessarily mean that I do not participate or use Instagram, I am on it multiple times a day checking up on others: seeing their posts, their stories, what they are up to. Subconsciously I’m well aware of the lack of authenticity Instagram presents, heck I still self-surveil on my Finsta, but when it comes to other people its hard for me to recognize that, especially when it comes to comparing myself to them. I am getting better at it, but I still have a long way to go to prevent Instagram aiding to my issues with self-appearance and self-worth.
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