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Instagram Face: The rise of selfie make-up and quest for hyper-perfection (2018)

bbc.co.uk

111–120 of 155 posts

Re: Instagram Face: The rise of selfie make-up and quest for hyper-perfection (2018)

#111
I remember being a popular, outgoing, friendly kid from kindergarten until 5th grade when I got my first pair of glasses.

The glasses were not fashionable, and I went from being popular to being an introverted and isolated kid for the next 15 years. I eventually ditched glasses for contacts and suddenly became outgoing again.

While having glasses wasn't the only factor for my behavior, there was a noticeable difference to people's reaction to you based on how you look. I consider myself confident regardless of appearance, but I have to admit that the activation energy required for being sociable greatly increases when you don't have the right look.

Many people don't have high levels of confidence from within themselves and outward affirmation influences them a lot. Even if you have high levels of internal confidence, you'll still feel the dopamine of affirmation noticeably, and there's definitely a temptation to fall into milking that affirmation to very unhealthy levels.

Affirmation is not the same as social acceptance, but they are close proxies. Many people seek after social acceptance and mistake social affirmation for it, leading us down the wrong path.

But social acceptance cannot be pulled out of people; it must be pushed. You can compel someone to compliment you, but you can't compel someone to accept you. Instead, active communication of acceptance is a trait that needs to be fostered in our culture in order to have a healthier society.

Re: Instagram Face: The rise of selfie make-up and quest for hyper-perfection (2018)

#112
post #2

Because it's The New Yorker, there are no photos in the article. So if you're hoping to learn what "instagram face" actually looks like, you'll have to dig somewhere else.

I think this BBC article about the same is good for people who need the actual visuals: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/5c237a34-7a47-4deb-a5...

She looks amazing in the before photo so in a way the question remains about the effect on average people ;)

I don't have an IG account where I would follow my friends so my only exposure to it is through these fake influencer/fitness/lifestyle accounts and it's appealing. Thankfully they force you to have an account to see most of the content these says so I'm not tempted to browse it more.

It seems the battle against airbrushing in magazines and how it shapes society's expectations is already two wars late.

Or maybe it's just the new version of the Myspace fat angle and we should stop pop sociology.

Re: Instagram Face: The rise of selfie make-up and quest for hyper-perfection (2018)

#113
post #90

Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I can't say I find "Instagram Face" to be attractive at all. It looks ridiculously unnatural, and evokes the same feeling as those ultra-SEO'd mostly contentless sites that flood search results.

Agreed. Most of my friend group (women in their late 20s and early 30s) make this face and it just appalls me. I think Baudrillard's conception of simulacra & simulation [1] is the perfect vehicle for understanding the "uncanny valley" effect this creates. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulacra_and_Simulation

Baudrillard is a hack of epic proportions. He's an example of the worst kind of French psudo-intellectualism almost on par with Lacan or Deleuze. Actually, bro the gulf war happened! And most of the book you linked is full of utter nonsense and crankery. His review of JG Ballard's novel "Crash" was the only good chapter in the whole book. Just because it was in the matrix doesn't mean that it described our world accurately at all. It's nothing but fashionable nonsense.

Re: Instagram Face: The rise of selfie make-up and quest for hyper-perfection (2018)

#114
post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. Most of my friend group (women in their late 20s and early 30s) make this face and it just appalls me. I think Baudrillard's conception of simulacra & simulation [1] is the perfect vehicle for understanding the "uncanny valley" effect this creates. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulacra_and_Simulation

Baudrillard is a hack of epic proportions. He's an example of the worst kind of French psudo-intellectualism almost on par with Lacan or Deleuze. Actually, bro the gulf war happened! And most of the book you linked is full of utter nonsense and crankery. His review of JG Ballard's novel "Crash" was the only good chapter in the whole book. Just because it was in the matrix doesn't mean that it described our world accu…

That's rich coming from somebody who's username is literally Der Einzige. :) It's hard to believe you deign to label Baudrillard a crank yet identify enough with Stirner to make the title of his most well-known work your nom de plume

Edit: See this [1] lovely video to learn why it's a common misconception that his work has any relevancy to the Matrix franchise beyond superficial pop philosophy.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf9J35yzM3E

Re: Instagram Face: The rise of selfie make-up and quest for hyper-perfection (2018)

#115
post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Baudrillard is a hack of epic proportions. He's an example of the worst kind of French psudo-intellectualism almost on par with Lacan or Deleuze. Actually, bro the gulf war happened! And most of the book you linked is full of utter nonsense and crankery. His review of JG Ballard's novel "Crash" was the only good chapter in the whole book. Just because it was in the matrix doesn't mean that it described our world accu…

That's rich coming from somebody who's username is literally Der Einzige . :) It's hard to believe you deign to label Baudrillard a crank yet identify enough with Stirner to make the title of his most well-known work your nom de plume Edit: See this [1] lovely video to learn why it's a common misconception that his work has any relevancy to the Matrix franchise beyond superficial pop philosophy. [1] https://www.youtu…

Stirner, and the rest of the German young hegelians, are far more coherent and interesting than French post modernists. They also don't engage in any type of fashionable nonsense.

Stirner also doesn't advocate for his ideas on the basis of anything except self interest. The "dialectical" Frenchies will tell you a far different story about why you should agree with them.

Re: Instagram Face: The rise of selfie make-up and quest for hyper-perfection (2018)

#116

Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I can't say I find "Instagram Face" to be attractive at all. It looks ridiculously unnatural, and evokes the same feeling as those ultra-SEO'd mostly contentless sites that flood search results.

Why are you assuming it's supposed to be attractive? It's optimised for getting 'likes', not dates.

The assertion that every picture of yourself is driven by a biological urge to reproduce is wrong. Humans do stuff for many more reasons than that.

Re: Instagram Face: The rise of selfie make-up and quest for hyper-perfection (2018)

#117
post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's rich coming from somebody who's username is literally Der Einzige . :) It's hard to believe you deign to label Baudrillard a crank yet identify enough with Stirner to make the title of his most well-known work your nom de plume Edit: See this [1] lovely video to learn why it's a common misconception that his work has any relevancy to the Matrix franchise beyond superficial pop philosophy. [1] https://www.youtu…

Stirner, and the rest of the German young hegelians, are far more coherent and interesting than French post modernists. They also don't engage in any type of fashionable nonsense. Stirner also doesn't advocate for his ideas on the basis of anything except self interest. The "dialectical" Frenchies will tell you a far different story about why you should agree with them.

> coherent

That I can agree with you on. It is certainly dense material that frightens away those unwilling to be linguistically challenged when reading a book.

> interesting

Absolutely not. Look, I get Stirner is neat for being a proto-anarchist and all, but his value ends there. You seem preoccupied with the "fashion" of it (which itself raises questions) instead of with the philosophy being discussed. Engage with the ideas instead of resorting to this rhetorical BS that we both know you're pulling.

For example, your point that Stirner grounds his philosophy merely in self-interest -- what exactly does that prove? That his ideas are derivative and trite? I understand that Baudrillard's writing is a tough nut to crack, but to think that his work (and the rest of the French canon) is irrelevant because it requires more than egotism as its foundation is absurd.

Re: Instagram Face: The rise of selfie make-up and quest for hyper-perfection (2018)

#118

Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I can't say I find "Instagram Face" to be attractive at all. It looks ridiculously unnatural, and evokes the same feeling as those ultra-SEO'd mostly contentless sites that flood search results.

Why are you assuming it's supposed to be attractive? It's optimised for getting 'likes', not dates. The assertion that every picture of yourself is driven by a biological urge to reproduce is wrong. Humans do stuff for many more reasons than that.

Pretending to be available for dates is a very effective way of getting "likes".

Re: Instagram Face: The rise of selfie make-up and quest for hyper-perfection (2018)

#120
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good for you. I never had any of those types of services except for Facebook and I never used that much at all. So, I don't know what it's like to "unplug" in that regard, but I can imagine how much it must suck to be in that spiral. I think in addition to the dopamine addiction, there's also some sort of neurotic or narcissistic aspect to it as well for many. I see it all the time with people everywhere. Women on th…

I think it's funny how 90% percent of these 'selfies' are taken in bathrooms. Used to be you went to a nice place and took a photo to show where you went. Now I think the average selfie taker doesn't even realize they are in a toilet, it is completely self focused. There is a fitting metaphor in there somewhere.

"My shit doesn't stink"?
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