Blog 2- Social Shaping of Technology

This Prom Queen of Instagram story reminded me of an episode in the television show Awkward. In the episode the main character gets the opportunity to hang out with the popular girls at her school and she’s excited since the popular girls are always posting selfies of themselves having a great time. However, when she does hang out with the popular girls she isn’t having a good time at all, and when they pose for a selfie to post online, the popular girls tell everyone to look like they are having a good time. Therefore, what they post online and the photos they choose represent a different image of their lives than the actual reality. Instead of living their lives, they are taking pictures to post to their profile to appeal a certain way to their audience. This seems to be what Lilli Hymowitz, the Prom Queen of Instagram is doing. She deleted photos off of her account since they didn’t represent what she thought of herself anymore and they didn’t fit with the outward appearance that she wanted her Instagram audience to see.

The theoretical perspective that I will be using to discuss the Prom Queen of Instagram is the social shaping of technology. I choose this perspective since it is a mixture of two other perspectives, technological determinism and the social construction of technology. Technological determinism is how individuals use the media platforms and how they can be affected by them. Social construction of technology is how society influences the development of new technology. Therefore, the social shaping of technology is that people and technology have the power to influence the development and the use of the technologies, so technology and society work together.

In the case of the Prom Queen of Instagram, the new technologies which allow for social media have made it possible to post and share with other individuals and have created a pressure to appear and maintain that appearance online, as shown when Lilli Hymowitz deletes old photos on instagram since they do not represent the image of herself that she wants others to see. Also, society created these social media sites and apps since there was a need. In the case of instagram there was a need to connect with others from all over the world and share photos. However, this constant need to present yourself a certain way and you show your best self online can create an anxiety to live up to other people’s profiles. As stated in the above example, some people only take certain photos or do certain activities just to post them online for others to see. Therefore, this technology has changed the way society interacts; however society influenced the development and need of this new technology.

More to the Instagram post than meets the eye

            The relationship between technology and the social is linked by our constant and almost reflexive need to use technology to portray our social lives online for the world to see. It has become increasingly more common for a large portion of individuals in our society to have the desire to share every moment - from the time they wake up until the time they go to sleep - with their friends on various social media platforms; and the content that is shared differentiates depending on the platform being used.
             Baym's theory of the social shaping of technology states, "Machines can and do accelerate certain trends, magnify cultural weaknesses, and fortify certain social structures while eroding others," (51) which accurately explains the allure behind "The Prom Queen of Instagram." Having an interest in the lives of celebrities has been a trend for decades. Today, with social media, that interest has drastically accelerated as the window into these celebrities' lives is now in the palm of our hands practically all hours of the day. Thousands of Instragram users are utterly fascinated with the life of, with the exception of her wealth, this otherwise seemingly ordinary teenage girl because they are immersing themselves in the imaginary world that is the persona she portrays to her followers. As Lilli Hymowitz states in the New York Times article, "You can edit your life on Instagram [...] I think people think I'm cooler than I am," Lilli recognizes the existence of an illusion in Instagram in which users can portray their lives to be much more glamorous than it is in reality. As individuals buy into this portrayed life, it can create anxieties and dissatisfaction with their own lives as they do not seem to be up-to-par.
             Moreover, "Instagram celebrities" have fortified new social structures in which it is common to see some of the most followed users begin to form friendships. Whether this entails them posting a photo or video together on Instagram, or seeing them together on their other social media platforms such as YouTube, Vine, etc. these high-status individuals are being brought together through these media platforms and social following. Baym states "social media platforms engineer particular kinds of sociality even as their users develop norms around their use," (51) supporting the notion of the aforementioned social structures having become a normal, and even expected, occurrence.
            I chose the aforementioned theory due to its evident connections to the topic being discussed. I think the way in which technology and social media has encouraged society to present our social lives in the most picture-perfect way has brought a lot of anxiety and dissatisfaction to our own lives, pressuring us to portray ours better as well.

Bonus: An additional article that dives into this issue is this BuzzFeed article in which a couple who quit their jobs to travel the world may portray their lives on Instagram as perfect and adventurous, behind the scenes they are now broke and scrubbing toilets to make ends meet. Check out the link below for an interesting read:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/stephaniemcneal/reality-check#.ni3bZDDOg

Don't Worry, I Instagrammed It.

In "Personal Connections in the Digital Age" by Nancy Baym, she discusses the domestication of technology which I found highly relevant when reading "The Prom Queen of Instagram". I'm sure like many others I thought back to a time when social status was reflective of where you sat in the cafeteria, and it ended there. Though phones had grown in popularity the social shaping of that technology was important in how it gained personal meaning.
On paper to be "...rich, pretty and [do] whatever [you] want"(Prom Queen of Instagram) is definitely the kind of friend with connections you may not mind crashing your party, and as many say 'a picture is worth a thousand words', but what Baym notes and what is important to this article is the acceptance of this tradition. The function and use of Instagram is rarely questioned, it's passive entertainment. As is the world that I would say our Prom Queen lives in. Like any new technology or app that appears to be marvellous and new, we as users learn to fit it to our own needs. Our Prom Queen is socially shaping her technological self, her online presence, and I believe that part of the anxiety fits into how her online self relates to who she is. Would Eckhart Tolle's "The Power of Now" be on her bedside if these thoughts hadn't occurred to her? When ideas become so inherent and the mind takes over, and we think it's ourselves, how do we silence it?
This is why I chose the domestication of technology, because when something new becomes ordinary, and part of our lives, we create a part of ourself around it. This is the negative effect of technology, and the discourse that she faces in the article.

Blog Post #2- #SCOT

       The relationship between one’s social media persona and their social identity can be evasive and at times disingenuous.  In “Personal Connections in the Digital Age” Nancy Baym addresses four theoretical perspectives surrounding the correlation between technology and the social. Wiedeman’s article Meet the Prom Queen of Instagram accurately illustrates the correlation between 16-year old, Lilli Hymowitz’s Instagram page and the social construction of technology  (SCOT). According to Baym, the social construction of technology places focus on “how technologies arise from social processes (44).” In a culture where so much of our social status is derived by the double tap of a screen it is important to consider the ways in which technology has power over our social contexts.  The social construction of technology asserts that there are a variety of factors that influence the ways in which individuals utilize various forms of media, as a result Instagram is a perfect fit for young adults today. Instagram creates false connections between users and those they follow as it allows Instagram followers a seemingly exclusive view into their peers and celebrities life. It is important to note that individuals carefully curate this view in order to present themselves in the most flattering possible way, consequently creating interactive anxieties

Within our media-saturated culture Lilli Hymowitz exemplifies the anxieties that accompany the use of social media, as it is evident that she is aware of the fact that the life she presents on social media is incongruent with her everyday lifestyle. By portraying herself through a meticulously constructed lens, Hymowitz sets an unrealistic precedent for herself and her peers, thus creating anxieties surrounding her authentic self. SCOT derives itself from a culture in which interactivity through technology is at an all time high. According to Baym, anxieties surrounding digital technologies due to their interactive nature (24), as such Hymowitz is in constant contact with her Instagram followers who praise her for how fabulous her life is (regardless of whether this is accurate or not). Something I found particularly noteworthy is the amount of images Hymowitz has deleted from her Instagram account since the launch of Wiedeman’s article, thus demonstrating the constant need to reinvent and edit one’s virtual “reality" and the impact of the social construction of technology.

Blog Assignment #2

Based on the article, “The Prom Queen of Instagram”, technological determinism is closely fitted to what this article entails. In the book, Personal Connections in the Digital Age, Nancy Baym discusses technological determinism in terms of how technology can “change us” the more we use it (27).

When Lilli Hymowitz, who gained her fame through Instagram, claims that people think that she’s “cooler” than she is in real life, she is describing her Instagram self as an altered version of herself, created by herself. It is exactly what Instagram does. Instagram allows the user to determine what you want to be framed and filter it to your liking. While we visibly see what Lilli shares and how she portrays what her lifestyle seems to be like, we still do not know who she is, at the end of the day. Young people tend to create an online personality that they want to present.  People who are Instagram famous may often feel pressured to maintain a specific type of persona that attracts their followers. For instance, Lilli may feel the need to present herself as “cool [or] tough” rather than what people in real life describes her as—“sweeter in person”.  This comes back to Baym’s idea of how we think we are using the technology but instead, we may be “used by it” (29). By creating online personas though social networks such as Instagram, we may feel that pressure to maintain such role created by ourselves. It becomes a dangerous when we allow technology to impact our social lives.

Social Media Versus Reality

In Nancy Baym's article she discusses a perspective in which I find is highly evident in the "Meet the Prom Queen" article called technological determinism. Technological determinism is the concept that the technology prominent in a society drives its social forces. It is an ideal that believes technology shapes culture, it is the cause and society is the effect. Because technological determinism puts so much power into technology, in the article's case social media like Instagram, such a simple form of communication contains an immense amount of influence. I believe that there are many factors to Instagram that can cause social anxieties. In the article despite the fact that this girl has been chosen at the young age of 16 as having one of the coolest and most popular Instagram page, Lilli still shows signs of insecurities and anxiety. In interviews she has been quoted saying that people think she's cooler than she is. This is a common issue with social media platforms because they allow you to create a profile of yourselves. With computers people have the ability to reinvent themselves and express their best selves which can be deceiving. In the article the interviewer mentions how in real life Lilli was not perfect, having chipped nail polish and looking her actual age not in her twenties like her pictures suggest. This false portrayal of self can create anxieties because you are setting certain expectations of who you are and what you stand for and when you meet people they expect you to be that person. That is why I decided to pick technological determinism because the technology that we have access too is allowing us to show ourselves in unrealistic ways in attempts to be popular and have more "friends" when what it is really doing is creating anxieties of what people think of us and trying to constantly stay relevant.

Blog Post #2

The emergence of social media has greatly changed the way people interact with one another. Society has gone through a drastic conversion from face-to-face communication to more virtual based reality forms of communication – AKA social media. This can be proven by a simple field study research, if you were to go on campus and take a look around I guarantee that you would see multiple people on their phones/IPads/Computers partaking in at least one form of social media. In my opinion I think that people are so attached to their social media accounts because these forms of communication have given us the ability to become ‘present’ and involved with our friends without physically having to be there. The point that I am trying to make here is to support the theory that Baym mentions in chapter two of technological determinism. According to Baym technological determinism is based upon the idea that machines have changed society creating utopian and dystopian views. 

Unfortunately, the case of “Prom Queen of Instagram” does not come as a surprise to me. In my opinion, the affect of the new digital media presented in this article displays how problematic our society has become. People are obsessing over strangers on the Internet without even knowing anything about them. Hymowitz even admits herself that she has no extraordinary assets but she is only an anonymous teen living a regular life. From a utopian point of view of technological determinism society has become a natural part of our life and it isn’t even questionable to follow people you don’t know and become fixated on every detail of their life. This article proves the most blunt point that people aren’t truly who they appear to be online – which can be emphasized throughout the “In Real Life” section of the article. Furthermore, I find it strange how people obsess over a young teenagers life and want to know every single detail about her. Personally, I think that this is a huge problem and quite honestly a safety concern. The reason why youth, such as Hymowitz, are not concerned about the idea of strangers wanting to know every detail about their life is due to the attention. Teens admire the attention because it boosts their ego and makes them feel like a mini celebrity, just because they have the ability to post the perfect picture by choosing the right photo, filter and caption. People are becoming too invested and fixated on technology because we are becoming nosy in the lives of people who we don’t even know. I think that we are losing control and that boundaries are blurred when it comes to what is okay and not okay on the Internet. I decided to talk about this theoretical framework because I personally see the Digital Age as problematic and technological determinism emphasizes the fact that the dystopian view there there is a fear that people are losing control over technology.  

Blog Post 2#

Its no surprise in this day and age when you hear of random ordinary individuals become instantly famous or the YouTubers who become a YouTube celebrity over their videos. They all have one thing in common, in that they aren't famous, their not Hollywood celebrities, yet are extremely popular with thousands of subscribers or followers. A prime example was made in the article "Prom Queen, where Lilli Hymowitz has over 7000 followers.

Technological determinism certainly played an obvious part in this. Society, or in this case the followers are infatuated in indulging in Lilli's Instagram photos, and want more hence why they are "followers". Its a prime example of how social media, like Instagram can change or encourage certain behaviours with individuals.

Its nothing new that advertising provides normalcy, displaying what a perfect body should be for women, to products that you should try. Social media has also tapped into this realm. Lilli is a role model and provides what a teenage life could or should be life to many of her teenage followers who aspire to be like her.

Technology constantly changes and influence society, both positively and negatively. It not only drives human invention, but also the cultural and social aspects/values of human civilization. In the end with examples like the "prom queen", its still remains to be seen whether we should lose faith in humanity or still see a glimmer of hope for it.

Blog Post #2: Social Construction of Technology

In Nancy Baym’s “Personal Connections in the Digital Age,” she discusses four different theoretical perspectives regarding the relationship between technology and the social. One of these perspectives is the social construction of technology. In this perspective, Baym argues that the technologies that we use cause for our social lives to change (Baym 44) and that our social lives are constructed around the technologies and social media that we use. I believe this to be true, and I think this perspective is very evident when looking at the example of Lilli Hymowitz.

I found the article, “Meet the Prom Queen of Instagram,” to be particularly interesting in relation to Nancy Baym’s perspective of the social as a construction of technology. Through Lilli’s Instagram profile, she is able to construct her identity and personality and she is able to make herself and her lifestyle seem appealing and desirable among her Instagram followers. This is evident in the article where Lilli is quoted saying, “You can edit your life on Instagram...I think people think I’m cooler than I am.” Perhaps Lilli knows that her photos and the representation of herself that she puts forward on social media are not necessarily as authentic as they could be, but she most likely feels a degree of anxiety to maintain this presentation of herself for all of her followers. As Baym says, anxieties stem from the fact that digital media are interactive (Baym 24) and Lilli probably feels pressure and anxiety because through Instagram, there is constant interaction.

A Picture is worth a thousand words **LIKES

They say a picture tells a thousand words, but it also gives a thousand likes if you tell the write story. In "Personal Connections in the Digital Age" by Nancy Baym she speaks to technology and social media as a framework to think critically about the ways we engage with media to build personal connections and reconfigure our ideas through a virtual world that transcends boundaries of time and space. 

More specifically, the concept of technological determinism as described by Baym is the idea that technologies have characteristics that ultimately affect or influence those who use it. (28) As she states "Machines Change Us". The article posted by New York Magazine, “The Prom Queen of Instagram” features 16 year old Lilly Hymowitz who’s public social persona speaks to the strategic elements of media technologies that affect our everyday lives. For Hymowitz, everyone wants to be her friend from women, to men, to students and celebrities. She thrives off of a utopia of real and authentic relationships. 

Therefore, in the same way that a picture tells a specific story or narrative, so does social media posts. For example, Baym argues “individuals will effectively employ media whose inherent characteristics are congruent with task demands.” Therefore, if the demand at hand is popularity like Hymowitz insinuates, she will post pictures from her 16th birthday party with celebrities like Jason Derulo. If the task at hand is to employ reconciliation or friendship, one may post a “throwback” photo to show the longevity and “consistency” of that friendship. 

As stated by Baym, technological determinism focuses on authenticity and the well-being of “real” relationships. Even if the network of friends is build through a social media platform. 

Social Shaping of Instagram

In Baym's book she describes technology as a multi definition term. She explains how technology has influenced our social spaces where we are not as present. Baym also notes that technology has slowly decreased our perception and sense of the real. One of the perspectives of technology that Baym discusses is the social shaping of technology. Technology has altered the way we communicate to one another. Technology is created and the use factor of that technology changes over time to accommodate our own preferences. For example, cellphones were originally used to make calls and text message one another. Whereas now so funds are used as lube computers that have multiple functions to accommodate us in our everyday activities. In relation to the prom queen of Instagram she is using Instagram as a way to portray her life in a certain fashion. Instagram was originally used to share pictures and it has altered over time to accommodate multiple functions socially and technologically. The prom queen on Instagram uses her Instagram to promote her own popularity. She alters her life through Instagram by editing what she posts and says to be a self-definition of what she wants and believes her life is like.  She also uses certain hashtags and filters to be seen as 'with it' and popular (ex. #squad). Overall social snapping of technology has changed Instagram to be about self-definition and perception. It is no longer just a place where you post pictures but a popularity challenge to see who has the most interesting and best life of them all. 

I chose the social shaping of technology because I believe that technology has altered its original form to promote people to be more expressive of themselves through social media. People enjoy expressing themselves and their lives so they do this through social media. People can create their own persona of themselves and they do not have to live their own lives but can create a new persona that they would like to live by. By socially shaping our technology we as a community create our own ways to express ourselves and alter technology to our own standards. 

"Do it for the 'gram"

While reading Wiedeman’s article Meet the Prom Queen of Instagram it became apparent that the life of Lilli Hymowitz and her famous Instagram page is in direct correlation to Technological Determinism by Baym.

It is crazy to begin to think about how our life is surrounded by the amount of likes, comments and followers that we accumulate on our social media platforms. Our society has made it so that one’s worth is often measured by online popularity.

Nancy Baym discusses the term technological determinism and goes into detail about how machines affect individuals and society. (27) More specifically, the machines, in this case can be understood as Instagram in which I believe demonstrates a lose of authenticity and ultimately portrays how our social lives are highly influenced by technology. (29) When it comes to the prom queen of Instagram, this is evident as we can see that by only using the absolute best photos of herself, using filters and constantly editing and deleting photos the authenticity is lost. In addition, when meeting her in person, it was noted that she is smaller than onscreen, she doesn’t look 16 online but when meeting in person she acts like a teenager and her online “tough girl persona” is much different than her sweet self. All of these examples contribute to what technological determinism stresses that media outlets can manipulate an individual through technology and lessen their value.

Baym goes on to further discuss that technological determinism also frames new ways of communicating through media as both improving and damaging to personal relationships and face to face communication. (40) This can be demonstrated through Lilli’s story as it is noted that when asked to invite 40 people to a party, she could only think of 6 which is amazing due to the fact that she has thousands of followers. This example proves Baym’s point in which new media can be damaging to personal relationships and a lack of reality is seen.  

I choose the technological determinism approach to Wiedeman’s article because I believe that it complemented the article the most, as it was easily relatable to the story of the prom queen of Instagram and made the most thorough contribution to the various topics discussed.

Blog Post #2 How to be cool on Instagram (Prom Queen Style)

                The causal relationship between technology and the social inherently affects our everyday practices and lives because technology has evidently altered the ways in which we view ourselves and the world. Social construction of the technology perspective focuses on ‘how technologies arise from social processes’ (44).

Baym’s perspective is a result of our social and cultural processes that enable technology to control our social contexts.  Anxieties are inherent with the constant use of the internet and our smart phones, the interactivity they offer change the ways we see others, then ourselves.  Social interactivity gives us a source of interacting between groups or individuals even if it’s a Instagram like or comment.  Through the use of social media sites such as Instagram people feel more connected and acquire the knowledge of one’s life through their posts that can be read as ‘real’.  Because forms of social media such as Instagram are interactive anxieties stem from outside perspectives as viewing someone else’s life when in reality it is solemnly a social construction built on technology such as a Instagram profile.

As Tamara mentioned below, Lilli Hymowitz is a prime example of the anxieties surrounding the use of new media.  In the article “The Prom Queen of Instagram”, Lilli became popularly known for her identity and persona she created and constructed through her Instagram profile. This I call a “fantasy” life, Lilli’s posts on Instagram raises questions about authentic self-representation through technology. Have you ever met someone who portrayed to be a certain way online then when you met face to face they were nothing like how they portrayed themselves to be? I have, and I feel like Lill Hymowitz’s followers would experience the same discourse if they met face to face.

I chose this theoretical framework that I did because I had a friend text me today asking if she should Instagram another picture from homecoming this past weekend, which I thought was very relevant that she was giving so much thought to her profile and how she portrays herself on social media. The anxieties around what others think of us prevail through the use of new media and the content we choose to share with the Internet.

Check out this link.. it’s how to have a “cool” Instagram profile, maybe Lilli Hymowitz wrote this..http://www.buzzfeed.com/samstryker/heres-how-to-be-cool-on-instagram-according-to-a-teen#.seWrY62O0

#BlogPost2 #SocialMediaAnxieties + #InstagramEgo's

         Social media has become a vital component to many teenagers lives. It uses images, filters, and collages which serves the purpose of forming a social newspaper for our generation. Teenagers such as Lilli Hymowitz, also known as “The Prom Queen of Instagram” illustrates how apps such as Instagram have power and impact over social relations, self representation and online communication causing interactivity anxiety.

Baym’s idea of technological determinism demonstrates how machines have the power and ability to change people and how they interact. She states how “Rather than “using it”, people may be “used by it” (29) In relation to the article, Hymowitz is an example of how people are used by technology since her popularity is dependent on her social media and followers. I chose this perspective because it represents the power of technology and how it affects social interactions by people adapting to technological characteristics. It has the ability to allow us to create our image while changing our behaviour to favour technology. I believe it reflects the article well because Lilli Hymowitz’s story shows us how machines change how people perceive us.

Most youth and celebrities use social media to showcase their materials, adventures and experiences to show evidence of their glamorous lifestyle. People such as Lilli create Instagram persona’s also known as “ego’s” using filters and angles to represent themselves in a favourable way. This can stem from social anxiety and the need to fit into a culture where “the perfect Instagram” is a compliment. Within the interview, Lilli Hymowitz’s close friends admit that Lilli is nothing like the cool, tough person people admire on her social media. This reflects technological determinism by illustrating how a machine changed Lilli’s image and impressions she makes on others. Lilli shows that although she has thousands of followers and people in awe of her, she has approximately ten real friends. 

She shows her self consciousness when she claims she deleted old elementary school pictures because they didn’t match her current personality. Also, she says “I think people think I’m cooler than I am”  which illustrates how she is anxious that people expect so much from her because she is constantly trying to impress people with her lavish lifestyle.There is a lot of pressure on her to sustain her popularity and self image by continuous interesting updates. People create false representations of themselves by trying to be someone they're not or using so much editing that their Instagram’s represent a false reality. People use social media platforms to fit in with current trends and receive attention through likes, comments and follows. Evidently, Instagram illustrates teens need for acceptance and popularity through social media to present themselves in the best light.

-Justine

Instagram we using it or used by it ?

Baym describes technological determinism as “machines changes us” (27), meaning that the technologies we chose to use develop our society’s ideologies and therefore our culture. Fischer explains technological determinism in regards to new technologies such as Instagram as something we get used by because we do not understand how influential it can be on us (29). I chose to use Technological Determinism because out of all four concepts this one best illustrated what Instagram means within our society and the exact influence it has within our ideologies. Claude Fischer describes technologies as changing history by transferring essential qualities to their users (29).

As Marshal McLuhan says “the medium is the message” meaning that whatever medium you chose to use will change what your message looks like (28). So in this case Instagram is a medium where you post pictures to show what you are doing or have done and who your friends are; it is kinda like a photo album. Since this medium is not about recreating your life and posting many pictures at once the picture you chose means everything. Instagram has completely changed the preexisting meaning and way of sharing pictures; the meaning of the photo no longer matters but instead what you look like in the picture is what truly matters. Instagram does not resemble real life but instead a small look into a life you want us to believe you live. Hymowitz choses the most favourable pictures of herself and uses filters such as black and white that accentuate her features best; therefore showing that as long as she looks good the picture will be good. This can be seen in the article Meet the Prom Queen of Instagram, “Are you out of your mind?” Nussdorf said, looking at the photos. “These are horrible.” “What are you talking about? That’s the best photo you’ve ever been a part of,” Hymowitz said. “Honestly, that’s your new prof”. Instagram allows Lilli to show only the most interesting and favourable parts of her life making it seem as though she has a more amusing life then you. Instagram is very different then other social media apps because in comparison to Facebook we post many pictures at one time showing a whole event whereas on Instagram we chose one photo that is suppose to represent your life at a certain time and therefore gets much more of a judgment. This judgement is particularly shown within Lilli’s Instagram because she is so popular within the social media world their would be a lot more of an anxiety about posting a picture and making it perfect for someone like her then an account that only has 100 followers. Each picture she post has to be as good as or better then the last and make her followers believe that her life is something to look up to and want to be like. Hymowitz brings up in the article that Big Sean and Drake are two of the only people she follows who do not follower her back shows that she is trying to get their attention and is concern of what people think when they view her account.

The domestication of instagram

The previous picture perfectly illustrates our relationship with technology. In the modern days, technology is no longer seen as a complete strange or dangerous thing. In fact, we take technology for granted and we normalize its use. Therefore, I will be using the domestication of technology perspective since it seems to be the best in describing our current relationship with technology.

In the “prom queen of instagram” we can clearly see how instagram is integrated into teenagers' lives. Their breakups, daily activities, and parties are all shared online. With time, Hymowitz and her friends learned how to use instagram to fit their needs of achieving popularity and status. 

Instagram as a platform relies heavily on visual representations with minimum social cues, and these visuals can be filtered and altered; As Hymowitz says: “You can edit your life on Instagram”. Therefore, these representations do not reflect their true personality or reality but rather online personas ­­­­that they created themselves and perfected them as they grow up. Hymowitz and her friends admitted that: “their online profiles were, if not the best version of themselves, then certainly a particular one”. Therefore, instagram created an increasing pressure to portray the best representation of one's life. The social anxiety of not being liked pressures those teenagers to create cool and likable online personas that does not necessary represent who they really are. In return, these perfect personas create social pressure on teenagers who feel intimidated and pressured to be cool like them.