We often wonder what it is about social media that is so enormously appealing. So much so that approximately 210 million people are estimated to be addicted to it.
Each social media platform has a specific appeal and purpose in its users’ lives. In this article, we shall focus purely on Instagram and try to demystify this seeming mystery.
A World of Its Own
If you notice how the ‘real’ world works and compare it with the one on Instagram, you’ll find a lot of differences, of course. But the main elements that prevail in a society exist there, too, each with its own specifics akin to the real one.
Our social world and its guiding forces mainly include—politicians, celebrities, companies and businesses, entrepreneurs, activists, non-governmental institutions, and the general public. All these play the same role virtually as they do in real life. On Instagram, the social world goes like—the politicians, the celebrities and influencers, the companies and businesses, the entrepreneurs, the activists, the non-governmental institutions, and the general users. Let us look at each up close.
The Users
These are plain old people in terms of the real world. Mostly minding their own business, seeking only dopamine, and getting easily influenced all the time.
The big difference between plain people in real life and users is that a user can easily turn into an influencer. The ones with one of the three—drive for money, desire for attention, or real passion—make the journey from a user to an influencer. But the vast majority remains dead set on the deadly side of the Instagram world. Many of these are mere visitors to this world as they prioritize their real lives more, but most find themselves stuck in a loop of scrolling. It is a mindless activity and hence helps them escape the world that they were born into, the real world. The users may be on their quest for satisfaction, but they end up becoming merely the tools that provide the influencers and celebrities the Instagram likes and followers that they so require for their sustenance in the Instagram society.
The Celebrities and Influencers
Celebrities are the same on Instagram as in real life (with respect to their social role). They promote their movies, advertise brands, and ultimately influence the users’ minds. Instagram is a big benefit to them because it provides them with another source of income. A downside for them is the open and free flow of opinions that makes them their object. Celebrities nowadays have one foot in this world and the other in the real one. Sometimes, they end up dazzling both; sometimes, they lose their balance.
As for the influencers, they are a creation solely of social media. They emerge as newborns on social media and gradually grow, finally making a leap into real life. But these are known to be falling stars as their shine dies too soon (there are exceptions as well, of course). The influencer category is a complex one, though. There is a variety of them; some are tagged because of the informative content they provide, others because of the entertaining content, while others still are tagged influencers because of the sole reason of having made their daily life a show to broadcast on the internet, one that may or not may not be truthful.
The Companies and Businesses
For companies and businesses, Instagram is a marketing platform. They employ various schemes and strategies to catch the user’s attention in this fast-paced world.
Companies and businesses are the sole reasons why influencers make money. They partner with influencers and celebrities to market their content. This world of Instagram is rather perfect in this one sense, that of supply and demand. Most people complain about the capitalization of Instagram, and while this capitalization is indeed unfortunate, Instagram is a world in and of itself; hence, just as it entails the accounts and agendas of politicians, memes, and jokes of the influencers, so it must contain the accounts and strategies of the companies.
If there is anything that can be done, the influencers and celebrities can decide to be more responsible in their choice of products and services that they deem worthy of promotion.
The Entrepreneurs
The entrepreneurs on Instagram do get a platform, but because most Instagram audiences are too into branded material, their reach isn’t far. It is indeed possible, in theory, to get yourself on the level of the big brands, but the task proves far harder to do in practice. Yet still, it isn’t completely a lost cause, and with the right technique, many entrepreneurs have brought themselves up from the ground.
Activists
For activists, this Instagram society proves to be very beneficial. They can reach more people than they could in real life, put their piece out there without disclosing their identity, discuss and debate among their self-grown community, and even question and critique the authorities or any institution or person they suspect.
The downside of the activist section of the Instagram society is the extremely uncontrolled and unreliable source that Instagram can be. Plus, activists seek to change, or a better society, but the society they seek to change is the real one, and the platform they choose to do that on is this Instagram society. Real activists simply use Instagram as a medium of expression, discussion and dissemination, performing their main task in the real world. But unfortunately, many claim to be activists while simply being another version of an influencer. Influencing and misinforming the users about their own agendas.
Non-governmental Institutions
Non-governmental Institutions do well in Instagram society. They fail to gain enough reach compared to influencers and celebrities, but they do reach the users who truly care. Maybe this is because the users who truly care about themselves search for these organizations and are aware of their activities.
However, many such institutions do not even create an Instagram account, and if they do, it remains largely inactive. There is a greater need among NGOs to realize the significance and reach of social media.
The Politicians
Almost all politicians have Instagram accounts, active ones at that. They play the same role on Instagram as they do in real life. They use the platform to advocate for themselves and their party. Seeking votes is their one aim for which they dutifully labor. Politicians post videos, banners, and other material to promote their party and gain votes.
But the bigger thing isn’t the politicians themselves, but what all goes on in the name of their ideologies and parties among the users. Users create their own fan pages and agenda pages, propagating the thoughts of one side or the other. It is another thing entirely to know whether such pages are the grace of politicians themselves or the users on their own. Whichever it be, it does lead to much radicalism and extremism in this cute little Instagram society of ours.
Conclusion
Instagram is considered not the real world—and it isn’t. But what we fail to understand is that it is still very much a world—a world relevant to the one we consider real, relevant to our lives, our choices, activities, and thoughts.
The time to hate Instagram is far gone; it is time to become aware of what Instagram is and the level of impact it has. This article was dedicated to raising this awareness. Now, what to do with this realization is entirely up for deliberation.
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