Instagram

Today, the array of media being accessed digitally, compared to traditionally, is becoming increasingly popular. One medium in particular that has been on the rise is social media. There are three main reasons as to way social media is being consumed so heavily than before:

1. the speed at which you can retrieve information 

2. the volume of information 

3. the ability of anyone to publish on the web (McFadden, 2010)

Social media platforms have combined the best aspects of traditional media into one site and made it much more seamless. One platform in particular that has done this, is Instagram. Instagram is a social networking site that allows users to create their own profiles and post content, such as pictures and videos. As an Instagram user, you can view other user's posts and accounts- if they're not private. The type of information you can find on Instagram is limitless. They have accounts that feature the news, memes, businesses, celebrities, and more. While Instagram is a great place to network with others, it does have its caveats. 

Instagram, along with other social media sites, allows you to have access to massive amounts of data, which largely consists of personal information. The shrinking of privacy online has been rapidly exacerbated by social networks, and the main reason is caused by decisions made by participants. Putting personal information online- even if it's set to be viewed by only select people- has become fairly standard amongst users (McFadden, 2010). The willingness to share personal details has allowed marketers to acquire free data to use for advertising. The ability to target advertising based on demographic information given willingly to the service—age, political preference, gender, and location—allows marketers to target advertising extremely efficiently (McFadden, 2010). 

If you look at the ads on your Instagram feed compared to anyone else, chances are the advertisements are much different and are personalized to the individual's account. This is a direct result of companies completing dataveillance, a practice of monitoring online activities, and then using it to create niche marketing campaigns. 

The cultivation analysis theory states that heavy exposure to media causes individuals to develop an illusory perception of reality based on the most repetitive and consistent messages of a particular medium (McFadden, 2010), in this case, Instagram. The main illusion that Instagram users tend to believe is how "great" someone's life really is. Instagram is a great platform to see what others are doing, whether that be on the regular Instagram feed, via a story, or by lurking on other profiles. The one thing many users forget is that people tend to post what they want their followers to see. This means that what someone is posting is only a slight representation of what really goes on in their everyday life. While you may see users on your feed traveling the world, going to the gym, and smiling with friends, you have to also remember that we all are facing our own problems behind the screen. 

One subject in particular that skews our reality is body image. On Instagram you are surrounded by individuals with the "ideal" figure, meaning thin and in shape. This makes frequent users believe that they are not living up to the standard body, but the reality is pictures can be posed and edited. This phobia of Instagram users that they don't "fit in" follows the cultivation analysis theory because they believe they must look a certain way when that does not depict the average human figure. 

The term "influencer", is a word that has been used a lot more frequently in the past few years. Individuals who considered an influencer are people who specialize in swaying consumers to buy into a specific product or service via social media. 

Often, the web is viewed as a source of entertainment, even in its in informational capacity. Because of this, sites that rely on advertising may choose to publish something more inflammatory that will be linked to and forwarded more for its entertainment value than for its informational qualities (McFadden, 2010). This makes it hard for Instagram users to find credible information online, especially when money is at stake.