Critical essay on Instagram PDF

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This essay studies the social media giant - Instagram, going in-depth as to what makes the app appeal to such a large number of consumers, some of it's key functions, and more....

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Lee E-Rann (Elly) J20033906

Critical Essay – Instagram The use of social media has increased significantly over the past decade, statistics show that out of the 7.7 billion people on this planet about 3.5 billion of us use some sort of social media platform (Ortiz-Ospina, 2019). With nearly half the human population online many media platforms have emerged. Today, one of the most popular social media sites out there is Instagram. The application was founded 11 years ago in 2010 and it currently has over 1 billion monthly active users (Tankovska, 2021a). This photo and video sharing app allow users to enjoy a number of features making it extremely effective in the delivery of content and procuring engagement, however, some concerns regarding the application's impact had led to growing contention. There are many features that Instagram users get to enjoy, these features greatly encourage engagement and is what makes the app highly addictive. One of Instagram’s main features is being able to post not only photos but also videos that are up to 60 seconds long. Video posts have been proven to increase engagement by 38% compared to those only containing images (Gotter, 2020), meanwhile, image posts also get an average of 23% more engagement compared to their Facebook counterparts (Iqbal, 2021). Other Instagram features include Instagram Live which allows users to live stream while followers give comments or likes in real-time, IGTV which allows users to share videos that are up to an hour-long, and Stories, one of Instagram’s biggest additions, allowing users to add photos or videos to their "story" making it visible for 24 hours (Lee, 2019). Furthermore, there are numerous types of content being shared on Instagram. Some receive more attention than others but almost all contain visuals such as photos, videos, infographics, memes, and more. Visuals are what people love about Instagram, the eyes of users get to enjoy feasting on dozens of photos and videos allowing them to constantly grab their interest (Socialnomics Trends, 2020). For people to see, learn, and explore more on social media when time is limited, visuals are incorporated to allow fast and concise delivery of a message (Katai, 2020). According to Jennings (2017), the main types of content being shared on Instagram are quotes, testimonials, lifestyle posts, fun facts, promotional or brand story posts, and features. There are also specific elements users can incorporate into their content to gain

Lee E-Rann (Elly) J20033906

better feedback and engagement. A study conducted by Chacon (2021) found that the best time to post content on Instagram is between 9 am and 11 am EST, this was concluded after analyzing 12 million Instagram posts from users with 100 followers or more. Captions also play an important role in the delivery of content, the ideal Instagram post should have about 80 characters; posts with 80 characters or less are found to receive 66% higher engagement and since captions get cut off at around 125 characters, it’s best not to overdo this part of the post (Keyhole, 2020). Finally, there is the infamous hashtag. Although Instagram allows users to include up to 30 hashtags, the optimal number of hashtags is only 11; and using effective hashtags can actually help posts gain a 12.6% increase in engagement compared to those without (Whiteney, 2020). Compendiously, there are numerous factors that can be accompanied by customary visuals to greatly help elevate an Instagram post. Instagram currently has an extremely broad audience, there are users from all over the world who come from different genders, age groups, races, and more. Currently, the app's gender demographics are rather balanced as 48% of users identify as males and 52% of users identify as females (Gotter, 2020). Instagram is also highly popular among young adults, studies found that over 60% of users are aged between 18-34 which explains the highly engaged and enthusiastic audience personality (Tankovska, 2021b). Young adults prefer using Instagram as it is a means to help release stress and pressure, the platform is also where they can be creative and express themselves whilst staying connected with friends and keeping up with celebrities (Socialnomics Trends, 2020). Meanwhile, only about 30% of Instagram users are over the age of 35 (Tankovska, 2021b). For older adults and seniors, Facebook is the more popular social media site; to them, social media is more often used as a means to communicate effectively with loved ones instead of drawing attention from postings (Pollock, n.d.). Overall, despite the very broad user profile, it is evident that Instagram greatly appeals to younger audiences from all around the world. Instagram allows users to interact with their followers through numerous features and tools, the Stories feature for example is a great way for users to engage with their followers, as there are options for adding polls, ratings, questions, quizzes, and more. Because of this, Instagram is now the most engaged social media platform (Leone, 2018). Forrester (n.d.) reported that Instagram comes first in line with a 4.21% engagement rate as compared to

Lee E-Rann (Elly) J20033906

Facebook and Twitter barely reaching 0.10%, due to the apps specialized features, and more “Instagram is able to deliver 58 times more engagement per follower than Facebook and 120 times more than Twitter” (as cited in Katai, 2020). As a result, the addictive nature of this platform explains why 63% of users check the app at least once per day (Pew Research Center, 2019) for an average of 28 minutes (Droesch, 2019). A study conducted by Valentini, Romenti, Murtarelli, and Pizzetti (2018) investigated the relationship between visuals and Instagram users' tendency to engage with content through online behaviors (ie. liking, sharing, commenting, and following); results found that there is empirical evidence which suggests that quality visuals are positively related to increased engagement. Instagram has proven itself to be one of the best platforms out there for procuring engagement, it is no wonder the app is now one of the biggest social media giants to exist. Aside from personal use and entertainment, Instagram is now widely used by businesses as well. Content creators and businesses can create professional accounts, this gives the user access to other features like Instagram Insights and Promotions which can greatly boost their online presence (Warren, 2019). As for advertising, business accounts can easily turn photo posts, video posts, and stories into ads using the ads manager (Lee, 2019); this makes creating ads much easier and less time-consuming. There are several reasons why businesses should advertise on Instagram. Firstly, Instagram ads are less intrusive therefore it is less likely to annoy the target audience, there is also a higher engagement rate on Instagram compared to any other social media platform making ads much more effective, and finally, there is a growing community on Instagram that already has over 700 million users (Katai, 2020) so there is no doubt that ads will reach a large number of users. Additionally, by using the Shoppable Tags feature businesses can also promote their products by tagging them in photo posts and stories, tapping on these tags will then instantly redirect a user to that given product’s page (Lee, 2019). Users who enjoy browsing through their favorite products online will definitely appreciate businesses using this feature because they can easily get to that desired product's page. Other engagement strategies used by businesses include using the platform to reach out and communicate with customers or clients, this also includes getting feedback and constructive criticism. Instagram Business Team (n.d.) reported that 60% of people discover new products through Instagram and that there are over 130 million users engaging with shopping posts per

Lee E-Rann (Elly) J20033906

month. Therefore, this platform has now become a huge online community that has great marketing potential. Although Instagram offers its users and the community numerous opportunities for entertainment, business, social interaction, and more, the platform had sparked controversy for its impact on society and the individual. Many studies have found that the consumption of Instagram, in turn, leads to self-esteem issues, and other body-image concerns. The is due to users' exposure to visuals including enhanced photos and idealized images, prompting a user to make social comparisons which in turn leads to negative emotions regarding one's body image/lifestyle (Sherlock & Wagstaff, 2018). A study conducted by Fardouly, Willburger, and Vartanian (2018) measured Instagram use and body-image concerns and self-objectification amongst young women; results show that Instagram use was positively correlated with selfobjectification. Other research had been consistent with these findings, showing that social media use is often associated with a negative self-evaluation resulting in increased social anxiety (Fardouly, Willburger & Vartanian, 2018, as cited in Fardouly et al., 2015). Another study conducted by Martinez-Pecino, and Garcia-Gavilán (2019) studied the popular social media platform’s effect on students self-esteem, the study concluded that there is a negative direct effect of self-esteem on Instagram use; evidence of moderate effects on self-esteem in the relationship between likes and Instagram use were also reported. A defining new feature on Instagram has allowed users to beautify their photos using enhancement filters, this further facilitates people's tendency and ability to present themselves in an ideal way online. Since making social comparisons is the leading factor to low self-esteem, idealistic lifestyles and proven images only increase social comparisons resulting in the belief that others have better lives, are more beautiful, more successful, and generally better off (Stapleton, Luiz, & Chatwin, 2017). This is obviously not the case as people have a propensity to show only what they want online; likes, followers, comments, and photos no matter how glamorous should not be used as a medium in the measure of success, or happiness. To conclude, Instagram is a powerful tool that has greatly changed our lives; I believe it should be used cautiously and in moderation to minimize its negative outcomes. Although the platform is no doubt able to help businesses and content creators alike build an effective online presence, the majority of users on Instagram are relatively young and everyone should remain

Lee E-Rann (Elly) J20033906

conscious of the content and information being shared on the app. With so many studies proving the negative effects of this social media app, shouldn’t we all be more careful about what we share and expose ourselves to online?

Lee E-Rann (Elly) J20033906

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