The perception of societal standards has changed dramatically since Web 2.0 and the creation of international social media platforms. These days, adolescents try to curate their lives based on their social media feed, constructing themselves and their worth on the images they see on Instagram. And while we blame large modelling companies, it is the individual Instagram user that enhances this issue as well.

“With the popularisation of the built-in camera feature on mobile phones for capturing images, and internet connectivity enabling rapid and effective sharing of these images”(Barbour, K. Lee, K. Moore, C. 2017), society has constructed fake and materialised personas for their social media. On every social media platform, I have a different media presence. I use Twitter for University, on Facebook I post updates for my family and on Instagram I uphold my reputation, mirroring Instagram influencers. Similar to other users, the majority of my posts are selfies. I maintain a colour scheme and organise my posts accordingly. I update my stories almost every day with a picture or a video of what I am doing- whether it’s a nice meal, outdoor climbing or a selfie. What sets me apart from the influencers is that I don’t have a target audience. I do this all for me. It provides me with a couple of seconds a day- a false reality- where I can believe my life is as perfect as I make it seem. And that is why I am a part of a much bigger problem.

 I try to uphold this curation for the same reason that many others do, to make my life look perfect. What my audience doesn’t see are pictures that didn't make it, the tripod I set up on the bin outside and my massive bowl of Nutri-grain before my aesthetic meal. This representation of me is not true. My online persona is incorrect and it sets unrealistic expectations for my albeit small audience.

Although you can make your life seem as perfect as you want to the world, this curation of social media presence has dire long term effects on social media users. A staggering “800 million users (are) active on a monthly basis”(Barbour, K. Lee, K. Moore, C. 2017) with adolescents spending “an average of 6 to 7 h viewing”(Morris, A. Katzman, D. 2003) social media every day.

Our generation’s overusing social media issue has incited long-lasting consequences on adolescents, as a meta-analysis of 25 studies “examined the effect of exposure to media images of the slender body ideal”(Morris, A. Katzman, D. 2003).

This study found that users “body image was significantly more negative after viewing thin media than after viewing images of average-sized models”(Morris, A. Katzman, D. 2003).

Additionally, features such as filters, stickers, and stories allow for influencers to hide behind Instagram’s effects. Consequently, the rate of body dysmorphia and eating disorders in younger generations are at the highest point they have ever been (N.a. 2017).

Although “social networks sites claim they are platforms of authenticity” (Salisbury, M. Pooley, J. 2017) small Instagram users and large influencers show how easy it is to express a fake, one-sided life and perfect persona. Consequently, adolescents are majorly affected every day and as a society, we should critically analyse our content and work against this trend.