Is the Thirst for Likes Becoming Dangerous?

In today’s world, social media has become a big part of everyone’s lives, constantly on our phones scrolling through Instagram feeds, checking for likes or uploading posts. For most people, checking social media is the first thing they do when they wake up and the last thing do before bed. Since its introduction, it is safe to say that social media has taken over our lives. The average person spends upwards of 2 whole hours per day just on social media, that’s 30 days a year!

One of the common terms you’ll hear in social media is the word ‘influencer’. This term refers to the people that have mass followings and high activity on their social media profiles. They post multiple times a day to their loyal followers and rack up some high numbers on their posts. An easy way to spot an influencer is that little blue checkmark next to their account name, this is called a verification checkmark. It was originally made to verify to people this is the real account of a celebrity, political figure, etc. rather than a fake account. However, when less famous people with high followers started obtaining them, it became a symbol of quality and how they are better than those without one.

With more and more people being given that verification checkmark and labeling themselves as an ‘influencer’, the competition amongst influencers for their follower’s attention has become high. Social media users have become addicted to that rush of dopamine we get when our post gets likes and comments. Influencers seem to be going further and further with what they’ll do for these likes and the attention of their fans, and it’s starting to get dangerous.

Influencer couple, Kelly Castille and Kody Workman, who have a shared account by the name of @positravelty, recently received backlash for their Instagram post from their trip to Bali. The post pictured the two of them kissing in an infinity pool as Kody held Kelly by only her arms and back over a seemingly endless drop. This of course was met with major outrage from users, who couldn’t believe how reckless they were, highlighting how if she fell, it could have resulted in major injury or even death. Not only is this a huge risk the couple took but it also sets a terrible example to their 175,000 followers, what if someone saw this photo and decided to try it themselves? Not only did the couple not take into consideration their own safety but also their influence on their followers. Fans look up to their idols and they are more than likely going to want to do what they see them doing or think it’s a good idea because they did it. This is something a lot of influencers do not realise when posting risky photos such as this.

Social media addiction is becoming a rising issue in our society and as we can see it is starting to get out of hand. People need to realise that not everything you see online is a good idea or an accurate representation of reality. I would bet confidently that every single ‘influencer’s’ profile has been completely filtered to show a fake reality of their best life. They make sure to only post the most interesting things, even if it is completely fake. Influencer couples especially are guilty of this, with multiple posts a day of their perfect, happy lives together. No fighting, no bad times, just the good bits that people want to see and that’ll get the most likes or views. Rather than thinking of every moment as a possible photo opportunity, we should be living in the moment ourselves, without worrying about sharing it with our followers. It is so unhealthy to be constantly sharing our lives with the internet rather than looking around and simply enjoying it with the people with us.

10 days ago, I was inspired to do a challenge of 30 days without any form of social media, and already I can say I have been so much happier without the constant thought of social media on my mind. I feel more involved in social events and have simply enjoyed my days more. I feel like I’ve been given this extra time to use that I would usually be spending on my phone, scrolling. With this experiment, I have also truly noticed how much time the people around spend looking down at their phones. I think we should all take a moment to look up from our phones at the world around us, with our eyes, not through a screen.