Is Instagram Toxic? Or Just Mishandled?
Chris Burt-Allan discusses Instagram’s most underrated wins and fails on social interaction.
Words, Chris Burt-Allan / Marcus V Richardson
Photography, Chris Burt-Allan
After its launch in 2010, Instagram rapidly gained popularity with one million registered users in two months. What started as a type of cathartic form of community, a quick glimpse into our loved ones lives, today has become a platform for business, inspiration, news and some toxicity. A quick glimpse has become a binge of others lives leaving some with the persistent impression of needing more.
The value that Instagram has brought to modern culture is evident while on the other hand, a lot of individuals feel the platform is a trap for depression, insecurities and dehumanization. Clearly a two sided coin yet the app continues to grow.
Here at BOND OFFICIAL, we’ve been trying to figure it out: Why are we not able to get rid of this app considering its obvious downside focusing on social interaction? Is the app itself toxic? or is it just mishandled?
Conversation is key and experience leaves us better prepared and more informed so, we asked Australian content creator, photographer and brand consultant, Chris Burt-Allan about his thoughts on the app’s most underrated wins and fails through the lens of his social experiences as a digital influencer.
I honestly can't summarize my relationship with Instagram; I have gone through so many phases. I've had so many good times and so many rough times, but I can't deny that this platform has presented me with more opportunities than I can take advantage of. Instagram has allowed me to live a life that that previous, I could only dream of. To be transparent, I’m 34 now and I spent the first decade of adulthood trying and failing to settle into a “normal life” while what I really wanted was to travel and explore different places. The rise of social media gave me the opportunity to engage my creativity and produce work for a worldwide audience. My career was really enabled and facilitated by Instagram. I can't say for sure that I wouldn't have 'found my way' without it but it has been absolutely instrumental in my professional and creative growth. It has given me amazing experiences and incredible projects with some of the most prestigious brands in the world. To this day, my digital presence is relevant to most of the projects and opportunities that come about. I’m so grateful, however, despite the amazing opportunities afforded to me by Instagram, I would describe my feelings towards the app as a bit ambivalent. On one hand, it can be very inspiring and inclusive but, on the other hand, it can easily trigger and exacerbate negative feelings, such as loneliness, alienation, jealousy, inferiority, stagnation and underachievement. One can argue that Instagram simply presents information but, when it’s mistaken for reality, it can easily result in dissatisfaction with one’s own life.
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it's just a lot of inauthenticity, which I guess happens any time you throw relative strangers into a structured and confined environment.
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Instagram is a platform that can generate value for people, as both individuals and as businesses, in two basic ways. Firstly, it allows people to forge, develop and maintain relationships through communication. This communication can be anything from posting, to commenting, to private messaging. Secondly, Instagram allows people to develop themselves through self-expression, identification, education and inspiration. These streams of value are echoed in the business realm. For those using Instagram for business, there is an opportunity to build partner and client relationships, and also to develop their businesses. At the same time, Instagram creates a lot of noise and can create unrealistic expectations of others and of life. There is a lot of misrepresentation, misinformation and misinterpretation that can really mess with people.
Scrolling through Instagram, it is so easy to feel like everyone else is experiencing life more fully than you are. It's also easy to feel closer to people than you actually are. Conversely, you can feel like people don't care when, in truth, they are just busy, distracted or not online. You really have to have a 'real' relationship with someone to contextualize the online communication. For me, the main negativity has been this noise factor. People often treat me differently when they learn about my online profile. Sometimes they stop engaging once they slap the ‘influencer’ label on me and sometimes they will get enthusiastic about me based on their assumptions about people with a big social media following. There are a lot of examples of noise but, empirically, it's just a lot of inauthenticity, which I guess happens any time you throw relative strangers into a structured and confined environment.
Sometimes, it’s made out to be less than but Instagram is a social interaction of sorts. Just because the messaging is not in-person nor always two-way, it doesn't mean that it's not conventional communication from a psychological perspective. It can make us feel seen, heard and loved, but it's often not real. For example, it is so easy for someone to be bored at work and reply to someone's Instagram stories with a flippant "I miss you" and for that message to be interpreted as desire to spend time together, which can obviously lead to disappointment. There's also a prevalent problem in the pursuit of validation. When people get a lot of likes and comments, they feel loved and appreciated - albeit from people who aren’t true friends. People mistake social media engagement for real support from meaningful relationships, and things become very empty as they try to get a stable stream of engagement. Instagram affects our personal relationships in innumerable ways, for better and worse.
On one hand, it's just another way for people to see each other, stay in touch and maintain relationships. On the other hand, it's fraught with glitz and superficial interactions that distract us from those real, in-person relationships. The important thing is to stay grounded and know what's real. Using Instagram in the exact same way, you can feel inspired and connected one day then inadequate and alone the next. You have to be aware of how you're feeling and have the strength to pull yourself out of it, because it's just too easy to clamber for validation from people who shouldn't matter to you.
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We can try and impart wisdom on others but at the end of the day they have to learn things themselves.
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I have learned to really understand why I'm using it. It's so important for me to know why and how it’s impacting me. It's like a good old pros and cons list, but with the intangible element of attitude. Sometimes you really need to hack your emotional state; it's an exercise in metacognition. It's so easy to feel like roadkill when scrolling through Instagram, and you're immersed in this world of attractive people doing cute things in beautiful places. I find it's beneficial to step onto the front foot and question this cognition... and here is where it gets a little abstract... I think about whether they are actually good people. Would I really want their life? Are they militant about controlling their image? Do they care about others? Do they recycle? Are they a good friend to people? Do they actually stand for anything, are they passionate about anything except themselves? If someone told them they were struggling, would they care? For me, that really gives me perspective. I think a lot of the lessons come from experience. We can try and impart wisdom on others but at the end of the day they have to learn things themselves. You have to have relevant experiences to really understand lessons and you have to learn the lessons in order to mature, which then changes how you experience and interpret things. I encourage myself and would say to others, stay strong and really push forward. You have to be on the front foot because it's really easy to get swept away and, if you can keep it together, the opportunities are endless.