Friday, January 24, 2020

The Lonely, Lying World of Instagram

Meet Lil Miquela, an Instagram ‘influencer’ with over 1.9 million followers.
Something about her looks a little off, right? That’s because she doesn’t exist in the physical world. She is an AI who creates her own posts, music, and serves as an advertisement for high-end brands like Burberry and Calvin Klein. Her Instagram bio reads “change-seeking robot with the drip,” but it might as well be “nothing on this page is real” because, like the America’s Last Line of Defense page, what she’s selling is completely fake, and people are buying it.

Frankfurt argues that lies are harmful to human interactions and mentions philosophers Kant and Montaigne stating that social intercourse depends on people telling the truth.

Instagram, however, thrives on people not telling the truth.

Miquela calls herself a ‘robot’ in her bio and occasionally in her posts, but even that isn’t the whole truth. She fabricates images using CGI, some with real people, to make it seem like she lives in the world we do. And she has a steady following of people who are deeply invested in what she has to say, whether they know she’s an AI or not.

Many Instagram users act in a similar way, presenting only the ‘best’ versions of themselves in their photos. The higher the quantity of makeup and the price tags on the clothes, the greater number of likes the post receives.

I’ve fallen into this trap many times. I only post pictures that make me look the best and get excited when someone I haven’t talked to in years likes my post. I tend to like and comment on posts where other people look how I want to look or have things that I want. I’m also doing it so that they will like and comment on my posts in return.

Like the Shakespearean relationship Frankfurt comments on, both myself and the other users are aware that there are many lies weaved into our Instagram identities. We tell ourselves the lies are fine, as long as our number of followers and likes continue to climb.

That’s what it’s really all about, isn't it? We lie to each other to gain likes and comments we don’t really mean. We lie to ourselves that this is genuine friendship, but we’re still alone on the other side of the screen.

3 comments:

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  2. It's a great reading and insightful since instagram is something which is so deeply rooted in our lives now that for one I can't really spend my day without it. If possible, I would like to see some negative sides of lying and how the AI using instagram can be negative. You've made a great connection to show that social interactions depend on people telling the truth but it would be great if you could highlight the same point with more conviction and proof. Also it could be helpful to talk more the "Shakesperean relationship Frankfurt comments on".

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  3. I really enjoyed this post! I especially liked how well the piece flows and the detail you use when explaining Lil Miquela and her instagram page. My suggestion would just be to use a bit more detail when referencing the class readings as sometimes it seems that you’re assuming the reader is in the class as opposed to writing for the general public who may not have read the Frankfurt article.

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