The Superficial Insta Effect

Confession:

I follow the Kardashians on Instagram

It's a guilty pleasure that just messes with my mind and further establishes the cultural obsession with wealth and perfectionism.

A familiar term for it is called the Kardashian Effect - the desire to follow and be aware of wildly popular social media sensations for the flimsy reason of doing absolutely nothing of substance and yet, have over 100 million followers, for example.

Let's take this a step further and correlate this social media popularity contest to anything and everything that fits beneath the fitness umbrella and how it too, is riddled with dysfunction. It seems as if these days, fitness professionals on Instagram have become nothing more than half naked, oiled up and provocative personalities that is in some twisted way linked to empowerment and self respect... but lacks actual and helpful fitness advice.

<< Take again the Kardashians for example, who may be considered fitness inspiration for (some) a few hundred million, with their perfectly coiffed and slim bodies, it seems easily achievable when they advertise their fat burning teas and waist trainers, yet they don't share what's really involved in their mighty expensive AND expansive VILLAGE of a staff (chefs, nannies, trainers, cleaners, personal assistants/drivers, in-home state of the art gym etc) that it takes to get them looking like they do. The reality of what goes on behind closed doors makes it look a lot more attainable than it really is. >>

The level of sacrifice required for fitness 'celebrities' is not shown- we don't see what happens behind the scenes and if we did see it, we probably wouldn't like it. The dedication and lifestyle of (probable) very high stress and little sleep have pummelled these fitness stars to the point where his/her image and branding have compensated and overshadowed substantial and helpful fitness advice. They are offered to promote big brands for their followers to buy with special discounts using their names or even better, they will get sponsored by these big brands and deeper down they go into the rabbit hole.

Which brings me to my next point, as inspired by the perusal of how many thousands of fitness Instagram accounts there really are... what inspires YOU when it comes to working out, and why?

With Instagram working at full force, it is no longer a novelty to be popular. Trainers promoting themselves in their underwear doesn't make them better at what they do either. Whatever the Insta fitness guru endorses as his/her exercise goal only creates a following of like-minded people with extremely contentious opinions. Herein lies the importance of critical thinking - before you 'follow' that Insta fitness celebrity, consider what the long term effects will be on not only your physical health but mental health. Who are the people that should really be responsible for shaping your fitness journey?

Perhaps we should reevaluate how we gauge someone as being a fitness expert not by their photo-shopped, glossy and perfect high-resolution images they post on Instagram or by the level of nudity displayed on their profile that is supposed to complement a lifestyle of self-respect; instead gauge it on quality content that can benefit you for the long term. Unfortunately, there are ample fitness personalities that abuse their bodies through extremely harsh dietary habits and training methods and their followers do the same.

Today's culture of anyone becoming an 'influencer' may result in being exposed to the wrong role models. Not every influencer will promote a positive influence.... which is why you need to take the time to assess what will get YOU to the gym on a consistent basis and what will help you become the healthiest you.

It's as if we're in a vicious cycle with the constant bombardment of perfectionism and subsequent feelings of insecurity which make for avid followers because we want to be inspired by and buy the programs of what we think can 'fix' us... to make us more like the people we want to emulate. Listen, I'm the last person to say that we shouldn't look to Instagram to be motivated or inspired by that guy/girl who can lift the most weight or has the best physique... but there's a difference between seeing and experiencing that source of information/inspiration every single day and seeing and experiencing it once in a while.