Instagram Illusions- by Eshna Gupta

Are you dreaming of waking up in a hotel in Paris right now? Well, close your eyes, because in just a couple of seconds you’ll have a hot baguette in your hand. 

If you’ve opened your eyes and realized that you are, unfortunately, not in Paris, then you’ve also realized that you’re living in reality. But now that we’re on this topic of reality, what if I told you that you could make your life an illusion? (an online one, specifically.) Often times, when we are unhappy or feeling anxious, we scroll mindlessly through social media. This is a very natural tendency, considering how easily accessible every part of the internet is to us. At least for me, I find myself searching for the life I want on my screen. Whether it’s 'dream life' searches through Pinterest boards or Instagram reels- I find myself looking for this peace of mind and serenity that I lack, all through a screen. 

This kind of behavior is very normal: what you search for on Instagram, in someone else’s life, is what your mind craves. What seems like an unproblematic solution to calming yourself down, however, has turned into a practice of further emotional abuse for a lot of us. 

Enter: false facades on social media. In the past 10 years, the internet has grown infamous for the self-harm it causes on people’s minds and emotions, mostly because of the way we compare ourselves to others online. So when we are already in a restless state of mind, fueling it with others’ happiness or confidence can be mentally tiring and detrimental to our own health. It’s human nature to want the best for yourself before others- that’s the way it should be. But what we need to realize is that allowing ourselves to get lost in this dark hole of comparisons and "I’m not good enough’s” only allows the toxicity of social media to flourish. Rather, we should take precautions by acknowledging that each person you see online who is putting up this ‘dream life’ is going through their own journey of struggles. 

Sometimes it is truly hard to see past perfect pictures and photoshopped smiles and realize that this person is just creating their own illusion- their own kind of happiness. If turning their own problems into pictures that are enjoyable for us to look at is what makes others happy, then we should embrace this kind of art form. These picture-perfect lives we see online should be taken with a grain of salt: we can appreciate the art someone else puts up with their kind of 'Instagram illusion’, while also realizing that they, too, have their own way of coping with pain. 

So what stops us from creating our own illusions? Further, what can you do to feed your mind without harming yourself with negative thoughts? You could create stories with pain that could be read by others, inspiring them as well. If it doesn’t harm anyone or spread a negative message, then why not present yourself online as the best version of you? If we all choose to look past the surface-level envy of someone else’s online facade and not allow it to further induce our anxiety and discontent, we can embrace this art form of illusions and aesthetics. And if you do get affected negatively by these seemingly perfect pictures, then just remember that everyone has their own issues that they’re dealing with. Rather than wanting someone else’s life, we can accept the beauty in creating a world of bliss and escape from our own struggles.

Instagram accounts I find inspiring:

@okdeon

@humansofny

@rupikaur_.

@emmawatson

@selfcareisforeveryone

@gabbybernstein

—Eshna

@eshnageez