With the way social media is shaping the minds of people all over the world, some of the most influenced groups are teenagers. Due to the variety of different ideas and customs in the social media world, many wonder how the youth are being shaped and impacted. One of the most common apps that are questioned for its influence is Instagram.
For SHS teacher Amy Whitlatch, Instagram is a business platform to share the activities and events throughout the day, or as a form of advertisement for business.
Whitlatch believes that in the three years she has owned the app, she has noticed that Instagram, along with most social media, is something that almost consumes the student population.
“Teenagers are too dependent on this and value those who post more than they value themselves,” she said.
Even though Whitlatch believes that Instagram targets anyone with a phone, she believes 16 is the mature age for students to use Instagram openly.
Instagram allows students to become connected with those who may not live close and gives younger audiences an outlet. Whitlatch believes the app encourages excess time on phones, which creates a sense of false reality in which harmful trends are followed and students may not fact check or second guess information that is posted.
“Teenagers are impressionable and are followers rather than leaders,” said Whitlatch.
Teenagers have evolved to seemingly “hide” behind the app, using it as a source for bullying or harmful self-reflection. Whitlatch believes parents are not getting involved enough with students and need to supervise their teenager’s phone activity. With all the positive and negative ways teenagers are being influenced by Instagram, Whitlatch believes parents create a divide between them and their child by not being involved in their life and keeping a close moderation on social media.
“There needs to be a balance, which includes parental involvement,” she said.
Sophomore Flora Wade has been an active user of Instagram for around four years. She uses the app to communicate and connect with fellow classmates, as well as pass time with entertainment.
Wade infers that teenagers spend an average time of 30-60 minutes a day on Instagram and she believes that many may feel left out if they see posts where their friends were hanging out with other people. She acknowledges the mental toll it takes on teenagers' images.
“Teens also tend to compare themselves with others on Instagram,” said Wade.
While she believes the mature age for Instagram is 13 or over, she thinks the app specifically targets 15-21 year olds. She said one of the biggest concerns with teenage use of Instagram is inappropriate content. Instagram offers a connection to peers and entertainment value, although, even with restricted viewing, suggestive material is still openly shared in the app. Students could see these posts and be exposed to inappropriate or harmful information. Wade expressed concern for teenagers coming across this content.
"There are ways to view inappropriate content on Instagram," she said.
Wade also touches on Instagram pages that target teenagers and gives false information, whether that's through stories, posts, private and public. These pages target teen views and attempt to persuade or impact teens’ minds and ideas.
“Since so many opinions are shared, teenagers see those opinions and overtime they change the teenagers views and values,” she said.
Another topic Wade dove into is comparison. She believes teenagers see others' followers and likes, which causes the teenager to compare them to their own. Many teenagers attempt the perfect pose for a photo, and many get disappointed when they don't get the reaction they were looking for.
She encourages fellow teenagers to switch to a private page and use the app’s tools to block keywords or certain advertisements. To Wade, Instagram is a good and bad app. Through its connections, and to its posts, Instagram shows both the worst and the best. Even so, she hopes it becomes less “normalized” to not have social media apps such as Instagram.
Junior student Cloe Zink said Instagram is a platform to share your activities and plans. Within the six years Zink has been using Instagram, she spends most of her time on Instagram sending posts or videos she finds funny to her friends and vice versa.
She believes that teenagers spend a lot of time on the app, although estimated it has lowered significantly since TikTok rose in popularity. She believes most social media apps, including Instagram, targets 16 to 20 years olds, although for Zink, 13-15 is the age most people use Instagram.
She reflected on the beneficial factors of Instagram, commenting that it allows teenagers to express themselves and share their interests, but also encourages negative self-image and can cause teenagers to envy other people’s lives.
“It influences people to buy and do what is popular at the moment,” said Zink
Since teenagers have started using social media more and more, Zink notices that the apps are becoming the biggest sources of communication, effectively stunting most people’s in-person relationships.
“People get too comfortable online, but don't know how to socialize in real life,” she said.
She encourages teenagers to report certain things and promotes not talking to unknown people on instagram.
“Instagram can be beneficial or bad depending on how it’s used,” said Wade. “Teens should know it's okay to not have social media and they don't need it to seem cool or popular.”