The Power of Instagram

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We do it every day...pictures of ourselves at school, on the beach, getting ready for a party. Posting selfies to Instagram is a common occurrence in many of our lives today. We generally do it for fun and to share our lives with our friends and followers. It usually doesn't take much thought and not much thought is usually put into it. But when we post those images of our faces, do we realize the power of our message? It is actually way more powerful than we may know.

Just recently, the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, made a speech in front of the United Nations General Assembly. At the beginning of his speech, he took out his phone and snapped a selfie. Some may argue that this action was completely inappropriate at the time. But Bukele strongly believes otherwise. He said, "Believe me, many more people will see that selfie when I share it than will listen to this speech...A couple of images on Instagram can have more impact than any speech delivered in this assembly" (See Instagram Photos Have More Impact). Bukele's statement is a little disturbing, yet an accurate reflection of the power of Instagram in the modern world. On the one hand, it seems like a selfie, which can be somewhat vapid in nature, should not have more impact than a president's speech at the United Nations. However, perhaps...just perhaps...the posting's popularity could also have benefits. It may be true that the people in El Salvador are not likely to listen to their President's speech. But with a popular post that includes a link to either the speech or to its important points, more people will be able to learn its content and significant messages--all through the power of an Instagram selfie.

The power of a face as a visual tool in communication between people has been studied by scientists with some pretty amazing results. According to Drs. Bakhshi, Shamma, and Gilbert, "photos with faces are 38% more likely to receive likes and 32% more likely to receive comments" (See Faces Engage Us). This means that selfies on Instagram have extreme power and will result in higher levels of interactive engagement than mere words. There is an old saying: "A picture is worth a thousand words." It appears that an Instagram posting may be worth a lot more than that!

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