So many of my peers have an unhealthy obsession with how many “likes” their pictures (especially selfies) receive on Instagram. Many of my friends seem to give a simple “like” so much more weight than it deserves and plenty even equate the number of likes on their pictures with how attractive they are or whether or not people like them. I know teens who go so far as to delete their photo if it doesn’t receive a certain amount of likes in a given time period.
Letting social media interactions like this have so much influence on one’s life might seem ridiculous at first, but it’s evidence of something more serious. There is a lot of pressure on teen girls to feel beautiful and perfect, and for those things to be constantly validated. The rise of social media generally (and “likes” specifically) has become the primary way for young women to measure their self-worth, which is a serious problem.
I believe it’s ridiculous to measure who you are as a person based off of how people perceive a single photo. I feel that if you are confident enough to share a picture with the whole entire world (or at least your own social network), then you should be confident enough to stand behind it regardless of how many people like it. Using social media sites like Instagram doesn’t necessarily have to be a way of getting validation: it can also be a way to celebrate your self-confidence, love for yourself and the people in your life. A teenage girl is worth so much more than the amount of likes on her Instagram picture or the amount of followers she has, and basing one’s value off of this validation needs to end now.