Negative External Effects on Instagram Users

--> Social media has been proven to negatively affect mental health and wellness, as well a general satisfaction for ones life. Moreover, we might all notice that Instagram is a waste of time, as studies show that when an Instagram user receives a notification about a new post, it then takes them about 20 to 25 minutes to get back to their previous task (Totka, 2016). But besides the effects on mental health (not like that's important, right?) IG can also have a heavy negative impact on your financial wellbeing, physical health, and personal relationships. Not only that but studies have shown that at least 127 deaths have been caused by taking selfies (Rocheleau, 2016). So, maybe put down the selfie stick for a bit? #deathbyselfie #yikes So we've already mentioned how ridiculous the celebrity endorsement side of IG is, but did you know that Instagram made $12.4 billion dollars last year (Griffith, 2016)? A majority of the revenue earned was from IG users 18-24 years old. Which, if you think about it, are definitely not the highest paid age group, considering they're mostly university students. So not only do celebrities trick you into buying products that don't work, but they get to keep your money, which probably would've been better spent on things like paying off your education, or investing for the future. Additionally, Instagram has the notorious ability to ruin social relationships. As discussed earlier,  with celebrity worship, a lot of time gets sucked into "becoming a new you". Also, as a result of trying to become more like another person, you lose a part of yourself in the process. This leads to terminated friendships and romantic relationships because your friends and partners grew to love you for who you are, and not for the celebrity identity you're trying to portray. Popularity does not equal happiness. And neither does Instagram. With that said, IG can also ruin relationships through user image content and comments (Ridgway and Clayton, 2016). Many relationships have been ruined because of mistrust arising when a user gets a sexually suggestive comment on one of their photos. With younger and younger women posting sexually explicit or suggestive content, it becomes an issue of 'Where is this behaviour coming from?'. And the answer to that dilemma can be revealed in three words: their role models.  -->

References

Griffith, E. (2016, December 12). Wall Street wants to know if instagram can make money. Retrieved from http://fortune.com/2015/07/29/wall-street-wants-to-know-if-instagram-can-make-money/

Ridgway, J. L., & Clayton, R. B. (2016). Instagram unfiltered: Exploring associations of body image satisfaction, Instagram# selfie posting, and negative romantic relationship outcomes. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 19(1), 2-7. Rocheleau, M (2016, November 21). Deaths while taking selfies, 'killfies', are on the rise. Retrieved from https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/11/21/deaths-while-taking-selfies-killfies-are-rise/LRAIYi4XdG7g3ox0IT46hI/story.html?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=webfeeds Totka, M. (2016) Is social media a crucial waste of time? Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/insights/2015/02/is-social-media-a-waste-of-time/