Instagram Changing the World and How We See Ourselves (EOTO Key Post)

In 6th grade (2011) I was asked "Do you have Instagram?" for the very first time. Little did I know that after downloading the app, and creating my profile, that I would be using it almost every single day for the next 9 years. Instagram, started in 2010 and bought by Facebook in 2012, is a leading social media app that has changed almost as much as I have since first creating my profile.

To say the least, Instagram has changed the world. The app has not only revolutionized how businesses are marketing/being successful, but also how users market their very own lives to their followers. Sarah Manavis of NewStatesmanAmerica says "Nearly ten years on, it is its own industry, a form of social currency, a perceived moral demon and the anchor for most of our disclosure about women, young people, and celebrities".

When Instagram first came out, I was at the age where young girls first begin to struggle the most with their appearance and care more than they should about how their peers perceive them. Instagram became the popularity contest that I, and many others, couldn't escape once getting home from school. The app had transformed how individuals present themselves online the more popular it became. Photoshopped pictures, only showing off the luxurious side of your life, the amount of likes/followers someone has, etc. had consumed much of my generation. To fix this problem, Instagram has recently decided to try and remake their image. With the goal of "improving mental health", the app has started to begin hiding users' likes.

On the business side of things, in 2019, Instagram collected about $20 million in advertising revenue. This $20 million is more than a quarter of Facebook's overall 2019 revenue. With an average of 1 billion monthly users, it is no surprise that so many businesses are marketing themselves on instagram. The app says that 80% of users follow a business. Retail brands are greatly benefiting from using the app, brands are able to showcase their products using an easy interactive catalog.  Over 25 million brand accounts are using the app and 96% of U.S. fashion brands have accounts. Users are even able to purchase items directly within the app off of select companies' pages, but most people do not realize that Instagram charges a fee for this.

Without a doubt, Instagram has had one of biggest impacts on how we use social media. From starting out as a basic photo-sharing app to becoming the empire it is today, it will be exciting to see what else Instagram will do in the next 10 years.


https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/social-media/2019/12/i-instagram-how-one-app-changed-way-young-people-see-world
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/business/dealbook/instagram-20-billion-revenue.html
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/03/business/instagram-shopping-checkout/index.html

"University of Northern Colorado Puts Greek Life on Hold"

The University of Northern Colorado puts a complete halt on Greek life by not allowing organizations to participate in recruitment, initiation, parties, and formals for the 2020 spring semester.

UNC put the halt into effect after after reports of sexual misconduct, drug use, and underage drinking. During the halt, Greek organizations were told to draft and present a detailed plan on how to practice successful safety.

Greek organizations were asked to summarize their policies regarding drugs, drinking, hazing, wellness and risk management, write out their chapters values, service hours, and a list of three year goals that they should strive to achieve. Members were also asked to state the current problems they see within their chapter and how to fix them.

Some students feel as if UNC is violating their first amendment rights by singling out Greek life members. Greek organizations will be reading their plans to UNC campus administrators at the end of the spring 2020 semester.

Being a student who has been involved with Greek life since the very beginning of freshman year, I find UNC's Greek life restrictions extremely frustrating. For many students, Greek life organizations are a vital part of their college careers. These organizations are where students have met lifelong friends, received scholarships from, hold important positions, and the list goes on. Personally, I believe that UNC should not be putting a complete halt on Greek life as a whole. Instead, it would be more logical to punish the chapters that are responsible for the sexual misconduct, underage drinking, and drug use reports. Halting all organizations is punishing all for the decisions of few, which is a dilemma Greek life organizations around the country are facing.

Facebook Not Taking Control Over Lies in Political Ads

    With the upcoming election, Congress has been pressuring Facebook to take control of political campaign advertisements. Political campaigns have been targeting different advertisements towards voters that may or may not be truthful. Facebook is one of the most popular platforms when it comes to political ads and they will not make a change in what is and is not allowed even though other tech companies are making changes.

Facebook is likely to be criticized for this decision. Liberal critics are wanting facebook to do a better job at monitoring their various social media platforms while conservatives claim that their "views are being unfairly muzzled". Many questions have been asked as to what political content should be allowed and not allowed across various popular technology companies. Both Twitter and Google have already taken action in fixing the political advertisement issue.

Facebook takes in a large amount of money from political campaigns. The Trump administration alone has spent more than $27 million on the platform alone. The administration also supported Facebook's decision of not interfering or face-checking political ads. In October, the Trump campaign made false accusations in an ad that Facebook refused to remove. When the Biden campaign asked for the removal of the head, the company's head of global elections policy, Katie Harbath, responded with "Our approach is grounded in Facebook's fundamental belief in free expression, respect for the democratic process and the belief that, in mature democracies with a free press, political speech is already arguably scrutinized speech there is". In a speech made in October, CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a similar speech that included his beliefs in the power of free speech, including paid advertising, and had no intention of regulating any political ads. While nothing huge will be done in regards to policing political ads, Facebook did decide to add a feature that will limit campaign and political issues.

As a young person who is using social media platforms daily and for long amounts of time, the issue of monitoring political ads and campaigns is one I am in favor of. While everyone is entitled to free speech, there should be a way to completely block out seeing false advertisements that are showing up in my social media stream. With the upcoming election being the first time my peers and I will be voting, I find it very worrisome that false ads could skew their decision without them even realizing it. False advertisements and fake news are becoming more of a problem daily and I believe Facebook should be doing more.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/09/technology/facebook-political-ads-lies.html