Big Move: Deleting Instagram

Instagram is a photo and video sharing application that currently dominates the life of college, high school and middle school students worldwide. The app gained popularity after its creation in 2010; today it’s difficult to list teens without an Instagram account. Makayla Wright and Katie Van Vooren, juniors, are some of these outliers; ever since 2015, both teens decided to delete their Instagram accounts.

Wright is a big advocate of nonconformity and claims that the application made her obsessed with following trends and getting more followers. Wright was simply tired of feeling these pressure on a day to day basis; “I was sick of making sure my picture had enough likes and comments and that my account had enough followers,” Wright said. Wright recognizes that social media applications can be positive in many ways yet she assures that, as of today, it brings more harm than good to the teen world.

Despite this rarity, Wright is not the only one who believes that the application has become an obstruction to the daily lives of teens. Katie Van Vooren, junior, has also deleted her Instagram account in addition to her Facebook and Snapchat accounts for similar reasons; “It’s pointless to be looking at other people’s pictures; it just makes you jealous. I would rather make my own memories,” Van Vooren said.

In the eyes of the recently graduated English teacher, Ms. Ali Baehler, however, Instagram has not necessarily become an addiction among teens. She believes that Snapchat has really taken center stage in that matter at Homestead; “Instagram is OK, I don’t think that’s the biggest worry,” Baehler, English teacher, said.

Nevertheless, deleting a social media account can only be labeled as a bold move. As the stigma around beauty standards and conformity takes over the lives of young adults, it becomes increasingly hard to deviate from the norm, especially as a high schooler. Both Makayla and Katie have chosen to follow these nontraditional paths that have led both teens to be more satisfied with their way of living.