Instagram is predominantly used the most by women in America; However, I am not a maven; I have noticed women sharing posts and engaging in IG feeds primarily, possibly because women have this inherent desire to be appreciated. Also, presence on social media gives a sense of being noticed among people. All the attention that women get on social media boosts their confidence, and they feel as if their existence is of utmost importance to society.

Some staggering facts

As per a survey conducted by ComScore in 2016, almost 58 percent of Instagramers were women, while 42% constituted men. This data has been consistent since then. IG is a photo-sharing social media giant with a population of over half a billion subscribers coming from different backgrounds and cultures. The site majorly promotes good looks and appearance.

Social media researcher Alice Marwick, working with Fordham University, highlights that, despite being highly diverse, the website spreads conventional notions and ideology across cultures about how one should look, which is why most women cling to the site.

Instagram is the hub of fashion, style, brands, and beautiful aesthetics, often targeting women to fall for their products. The main feature of Instagram is to share pictures that speak volumes of alluring beauty products, fashion houses, intensifying the need for people to look their best. The in-built filters of IG brighten and pop up the images all the more to make them appealing and compelling. Women are more image-conscious than men and hence get drawn naturally towards IG.

Why instagram acts as a natural women magnet?

IG gives you a free hand to enhance the appearance of your images that you post, raising the beauty standards and conventions. Rachel Simmons, a gender researcher, writes exclusively on teen girls and uses the honeyed IG tools to pop up the images.

One such tool is Perfect365 that Kim Kardashian West uses, drawing 72.6 million followers on her account. There’s also VisageLab, Modiface, and Facetune, which remove puffy eyes, increase whitening of the teeth, and airbrush with just a single click. Simmon says the way girls are brought up in our society; they are conditioned to look great since the early days, so they tend to use such apps more than the men do.

Every girl wants to look the best in the world. The Instagram handle supports such a mentality and has become a breeding ground for fashion worldwide. The internet has acted as a catalyst in driving online beauty pageants, where anyone can enter into the competition and elate the self-image.

Undoubtedly girls in their teens put more effort into maintaining their bodies and protecting their reputation. The selfie movement is the outcome of appreciation, flattering comments that the teen girls enjoy on IG. Nancy Jo Sales’s newly launched book, American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenagers, highlights the critical cause of women drawn towards social media: applauding and praising commentary like “heights of cuteness,” “beauty beyond words!”.

A study rolled out in the year 2012 revealed that men spend 1.81 hours a day on social networking sites, while women spend 2.08 hours a day on average.

The internet scholar and sociologist Katrin Tiidenberg at Tallinn University stated that more women would be drawn to IG across cultures. Women have been responsible for keeping the family intact, clicking pictures, creating memories, and sharing their bond with others. Instagram has very well encashed this opportunity. The site explicitly supports what women love to do in general.

Tiidernberg sees IG as a modern age online avatar of the tradition that women followed back in the 19’th century where rich class women clicked family pictures and boasted in the form of a collection of princess portraits, paintings, and elaborate albums, or even cut-out of images.

Fordham graduate 22-year-old Rosilena Coppola, shares her experience. She says women are more actively engaged on Instagram and have more accounts than men. Several women share their beautiful clicks, and men are bound to like and comment.

Instagram has set high standards of beauty, and this trend has pushed women to the extent that they try to capture the best shots. A recent hit video that went viral inspired by these women, called Instagram Husband, is beautifully woven into a funny parody, foretells women constantly pressing on “looking-the-best.” In the video, the poor husband has to leave his coffee aside to click a happy picture with his wife, to show the virtual world the best side of their happy married life. Since its launch, the video has been viewed more than 5.4 million times.

This is where Instagram can fuel envy, jealousy in people and fall into the trap of being the best. The constant pressure women have built over the period to be in perfect shape, body, and look their best, is driving them crazy and drifting away from reality. The picture that Instagram poses is not real; women need to realize this; the sooner, the better it is for them.

All it takes to create a desirable feed is some filters, tools to boost beauty, and camera angles to capture the best shot. None of this is depicting the unfiltered side of the person. So, why this madness?

If coffee is served to me in the actual scenario, I would instead gulp it down my gut and not take it to social media. Infact, seeing a perfectionist in each of these feeds, I would somewhat be daunted and would be inspired to be myself and embrace my imperfections.

Growing Popularity of Female Celebrities on IG

Instagram has instilled an unwavering faith in people, which drives them to be popular on the site. People have exploited the platform well in their favor with the content that pleases their eyes. Famous female celebrities like Caroline Calloway have won many hearts with her stunning images and captivating taglines: “#live-love-laugh.” Such feeds inspire girls to be the next social media sensation.

Instagram is hooked to women dominating demographics, and several women influencers have gained popularity through their blogs on beauty hacks, fashion tips, and beauty pageants.

Women seem to have been deriving advantages from social media the most. Many have taken on full-time careers utilizing these platforms and earning substantially.

It’s fascinating to see women influencers making their way on IG handles and climbing up the ladder. These are real-life examples who have a stronghold not just in their industry but on Instagram as well. Their presence never goes unnoticed and has a vast fan-following even on IG.

What makes these women successful: their captivating IG feeds or other factors that contribute to their success?

Listed below are three critical factors that contribute to these women’s success on IG:

  • High-Engagement Rate: It is not the only criteria; however, one of the most critical factors that help analyze how many engage with their content and for how long? How many likes, comments have they got?
  • The Number of Followers: These figures are an essential indicator of anyone’s success on IG. This reflects how many want to follow and associate with these women influencers.
  • Online Mentions: The more is their popularity, the more their names will appear on various social media platforms, attracting many more to follow them.

The factors mentioned above are used in calculating the influencer score. An average number of likes, comments in the last 20 feeds are taken into account. Kendall Jenner frequently posts her images, whereas Beyonce shares infrequently, but her feeds are highly engaging. So quality counts over quantity.

What do these Women talk about in their IG Feeds?

The most popular women influencers encash on a common sentiment “happiness” and “love.” Many are drawn to their feeds based on their positive captions and happy images. So, it is very evident that people are naturally inclined to positive emotions other than beauty.

Infact, these women influencers have tried to break the stereotypical approach about how one looks? They have redefined the definition of beauty, and they have bounced back with the age-old saying: “beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.” It is how you see the world from your inner eyes that matters the most, not judged by the merely external appearance.

Bottom Line

Instagram is the social media hub offering various opportunities to people to showcase their talent. However, the site is primarily hit amongst women in the U.S., given their need for appreciation and being noticed. Most have turned it into a substantial source of income with their post on beauty hacks, esteemed sense of fashion, and stylish clothing lines.

However, some have also broken the conventional idea of beauty and have stirred acceptance and self-love in people, especially women.