weekly 9/10/15

young woman on Instagram and self-esteem: 'I feel absolutely insecure'
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/nov/04/instagram-young-women-self-esteem-essena-oneill

Summer Andrews, 18: ‘If it doesn’t get enough likes, I take it down’

I do feel insecure if I see girls who look prettier than me, or if they post really pretty pictures, and I know won’t look as good in any that I post. I do feel pressure to look good in the photos I put up. I don’t feel anxious about not getting enough likes on a photo but if it doesn’t get enough likes, I will take it down.

Kerry Donnelly, 23: ‘I don’t generally feel insecure’

I feel pressure to look good or appear a certain way – to a certain extent. I wouldn’t post a picture where I don’t feel good about myself. But I also wouldn’t avoid posting a photo that I want to share just because I didn’t look my best.

If I post a picture (particularly of myself) and, let’s say the guy I had a crush on ‘liked’ it, of course that would affect my self-esteem in a great way. The same way it would affect my self-esteem negatively if I posted a picture of a new haircut, for example, and only received seven likes. When I see little sisters of my friends (in their late high school or early college years) posting over-filtered selfies that get 200-plus likes, I realize how silly social media really is.

Saeeda Tremaine, 23: ‘I don’t post pictures to prove anything’

I post a lot of food pictures because I love visiting new restaurants and going out to eat with friends, and I post a good amount of quotes that I find inspiring or that raise an important issue, but I don’t post pictures to prove anything to anyone.

I follow a lot of celebrities, and I know I can’t compete with their looks. When I look at pictures that friends post, I don’t feel insecure. But I do think it affects how often I will post pictures of myself. I want to make sure that my pictures look as good, if not better than the pictures that my friends post.

I don’t think Instagram affects my self-esteem. If I’m having a bad hair day or a breakout, I obviously won’t take a selfie, but if I’m having a good day, looking good and feeling good, I’ll show that through my Instagram photos. Also, my friends are usually very supportive of my selfies and they’ll post comments that reassure me that my picture looks good.

The news article expresses a number of diverse opinions about how young people particularly feel about posting pictures on-line on the social networking app Instagram. Essena O’Neill, an Australian teenager with half a million Instagram followers has decided to quite the platform because it is “contrived perfection made to get attention”.

I personally think that people have their own ways of thinking and let some things such as superficiality get to them, especially in the progressing materialistic age we live in. However if I could reach out to the young women on these social networking sites I would emphasize more on their character and their resilience, bravery or intelligence, not because i do not think they're pretty but because there is so much more to them then something as simple as what you were born with.   
Furthermore, I would like to comment on how both male and female around the world need to embrace their perfect imperfections and feel proud of who they are and what they look like.

Culture minister calls on social media sites to tackle transphobic hate

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/nov/03/culture-secretary-ed-vaizey-social-media-tackle-transphobic-hate

“There needs to be more regulation. If people behaved like that in a school or at work it would be dealt with. Why is it that people can say such horrific things online and we have to accept it?” he told the Guardian.

As well as discussing the issue of transphobic online content and hate speech, MPs at the inquiry questioned Vaizey about media policy on transgender equality. He said it was the duty of broadcasters to see transgender representation on screens not as “something exotic, but completely mainstream”. Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator, should have an updated code of conduct next spring, Vaizey revealed. 

The article explains the ongoing online hate to the LGBT community and how not much is being done in defence of the minority group. 

I believe that regardless of our sexuality, no human should be violated or discriminated against. I also agree with Jay Stewart who says that social media sites need to have a more strict policy to prevent transphobic or any other discrimination for that matter.