Instaworld

Instaworld is a collection of works that speak on the effects of social media, specifically Instagram, on body image. As an artist whose work is focused on women empowerment and female social issues, with this body of work, I focus on body dysmorphia which is a mental illness symptom that causes intense focus/flaws in appearance. The images represent the raw, untouched, and real versions of peoples bodies. In contrast to the realistic portraits, through screenshots and screen recordings from my Instagram account, I aimed to show the idealized versions that we see and get influenced by everyday. Those images are idealized and most likely edited versions to make oneself more beautiful, sexy, fit, etc. When people surround themselves with “perfect” images of “perfect” people for hours a day it can be detrimental to one’s self esteem.

1 in 50 people are affected by body dysmorphia, estimated 5 to 10 million people suffer from this in the United States according to the Cleveland Clinic. I spend on average 31 hours a week on social media. You can only imagine the amount of media I consume every week that is causing this false reality. In the generation I have grown up in Instagram was a staple in peoples social lives. It was all about who had the most likes, most comments, and most followers. I began to rely on these things to define my self worth. Now that I took a step back and reflected on how social media is affecting me negatively it’s eye opening. I want to work towards normalizing all body types, so that everyone can be confident in their own skin. People shouldn’t feel like they must edit themselves to look a certain way or to get likes. It causes unrealistic body standards that can be detrimental to ones confidence and body image. 

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NUDITY WARNING