Exposure to diverse representation and the use of Instagram are intertwined
Olivia Vizza
April 12, 2021
How would causes like body positivity, racial equality, feminism, LGBTQ+ rights, and overall diverse representation differ if we didn't have Instagram?
Social media is engrained into our lifestyle, our daily routine. I'm embarrassed by my weekly phone usage updates that my iPhone wakes me up with each Sunday. If I am not in class, with friends/family, or working out, I am on my phone or computer engaging with and consuming content from all over the web, especially pertaining to fashion and pop culture. I am at a level of addiction where even one day a week without my phone is a struggle. The days when my phone breaks, or when the power goes out and I have no wifi or cell service, are the days I meltdown.
But these days got me to thinking about the cliche but pertinent fact that only a decade ago, these social media platforms did not exist. People were not scrolling through Instagram seeing black, brown, or queer bodies with loud voices sharing their unique experiences. Our only chance at seeing others beyond our social circle was television, film, and print media, where those in power kept to the status quo of homogenized content and characters.
I believe whole heartedly that the activists and content creators online now would have little to no impact or representation if it weren't for the accessible and democratic networks of communication that is social media, Instagram in particular. The internet, and social media particularly, has radically evolved the public sphere by allowing a much wider range of production, access to knowledge, and dissemination of such knowledge and backgrounds of people outside those you know personally. Instagram is incredibly susceptible to "slacktivism", or the pejoratively named and self-serving, low effort use of social media to join a movement by just posting or retweeting. However, just having the option to join a movement and enact change through showing your support, no matter the effort, is a way of practicing your free speech.
Besides the written form, Instagram also visually gives the public content unseen on any other platform, the plus-size, LGBTQ+, those with disabilities, new-wave feminists, mental health professionals, and African American communities can create and share whatever they want, whenever they want, and as much as they want, without network guidelines or having to be cast in a certain role. I also think that it is the activism and increase in representation of all kinds of people on Instagram, that has led to more diverse projects in traditional Hollywood. Shows like Euphoria, The Politician, and more, would not have the characters it does without the influence of the younger generation and their use of fashion and social media to express themselves and make themselves known around the globe.
