Antithesis to Aesthetic

Antithesis to Aesthetic

Instagram users have switched from posting strictly curated photos to more casual content

Over the past couple months, Palo Alto students, and teenagers alike, have been taking a new approach to one of the biggest social media platforms— Instagram. This app has been known to have a culture of pressuring users to present “picture-perfect” versions of themselves. Some of the common unwritten social rules include don’t post frequently, make sure all your photos are cohesive and keep captions brief. However, some students have started showing uniqueness by posting more casually and using the app without following the social norms.

Up until recently, many Paly students have felt restricted while using Instagram. The social media app’s social pressures have caused students to be more aware of their posting habits and activities on Instagram.

Senior Tessa Ehrlich first became aware of these “rules” when she joined the app in middle school. “A friend of mine told me that people only post once a week max,” Ehrlich said. “I was annoyed because I had all these photos I thought were so cool but had nowhere to put, and I wanted all my friends to see them. But to avoid seeming annoying, I listened to her and posted maybe once a week.”

Ehrlich’s experience is a very common one; because all her peers were following these “rules,” Ehrlich had to align with the norms of Instagram, creating even more pressure.

Fellow senior Jeremy Huang also felt affected by the pressures of the app. “For the first week I had Instagram, I posted whatever I wanted,” Huang said. “Later, I felt pressured to not do that anymore, so I started to post

to Aesthetic

only when I had a ‘real’ event to post about.”

While many people felt the expectations to post a specific type of content, senior Sydney Pang describes the pressure she felt to edit her posts on popular editing applications, such as VSCO, to maintain an aesthetically pleasing feed. “I vividly remember going through the VSCO C4 filter phase that was pretty common at the time,” Pang said. “My oversaturated photos sought to match those I saw on the accounts of influencers I followed.”

Many Palo Alto teens have started to ignore these unwritten rules to share strictly “aes-

Text and design by LESLIE ABOYTES and AIDAN DO Art by SAM MUTZ • Photos by TESSA EHRLICH and SYDNEY PANG

thetic” photos on social media and return to said. “For a while, posting felt so restrictive, so posting more authentic and candid pictures. I just let go and decided to post random phoEhrlich made this switch at the start of 2020 tos I took.” after finding her passion for photography. Posting casually has not only positively

“I started posting more casually because changed Instagram’s culture, but it also has I never really liked posting myself,” Ehrlich had a great impact on the users like junior said. “I found there to Cate Dyer. “I post be too much pressure to look perfect, and "I don't feel pressured what makes me happy without stressing I would stress myself out not wanting any- to take and pick what others will think about it,” Dyer said. one who saw the post the perfect photo “I don’t feel presto think I looked ugly, sured to take and pick so I quit that and anymore." the ‘perfect’ photo started using Insta- anymore.” gram to share things I Cate Dyer, junior Without the presfound joy and beauty sure to pick “the perin.” fect photo,” users are able to happily enjoy the

Pang also started to post more casually app while showing their true personalities on once she found the source of her social me- the social media platform. The positive effects dia stress. “I realized that there wasn’t really of casual posting have challenged the uses of a point to having social media if I didn’t feel traditional posting. comfortable posting whatever I wanted,” Pang By breaking free from social media’s norms, these unwritten rules are losing their power as fewer people adhere to them. Because posting casually serves as a small form of rebellion, users feel a greater sense of freedom when posting. Instagrammers are finally able to express their unique personalities, creativity and exciting daily adventures. However, not everyone must start posting random photos to feel free on Instagram. Whether a user chooses to post casually or follow the norm, the app is a place for self-expression and creativity. “Everyone should use Instagram in the way they really want to,” Ehrlich said. “Instagram should be a happy place, where you can go and look and see your friends’ awesome weekend in Yosemite, their new eye makeup look that they tried, a selfie with their dog, pictures with their sister at the beach or whatever else brings them joy.”