The Instagram Effect

Author: Kat Soriano

Recently,  I received an invitation to submit a resume for a very well known company that I’ve honestly dreamed to be a part of for years. My initial reaction was an Elle Woods jump up and down screaming because Warner is finally proposing…. yet as I read through the requirements, my heart slowly slumped into the pit of my stomach.. or maybe that was the stress eating of my whole bag of white cheddar popcorn.. nonetheless, I found myself asking… “Am I actually good enough and qualified for this?”

I spent my week filling out small bits of the application here and there, with some resume plumping here and a little glitter there: but the question lingered over me like the aftermath of perm solution. I put my big girl pants on and asked a dear friend for help in making sure it all looked and sounded fantastical. As she read through my education, my nominations, experience and whatnots… I found myself saying out loud, “Holy sht, I am qualified for this.. I’ve seen some sht, bruh!”

My boo thang laughed and asked me why I sounded so surprised, and without hesitating, I responded, “I think I’m suffering from the Instagram effect!”

What is the Instagram effect, you ask? It’s the visual perception or IG/social media goggles put in front of us every day, based on our interests, goals and desires of what we choose to follow. It’s the visual stimulation we pursue on our pretty little feeds with multiple heart taps, views, follows and opinions. In a nutshell, it can be our own personal and visual interpretation of what success should be, where we should be, and sometimes even how to get there. The Instagram effect can be inspiring or in my case, slightly self deprecating!

Now, don’t get me wrong.. I haven’t decided to eliminate the gram out of my daily “what up world!” #hairgoals routine… BUT!  it was the kind of realization that felt more like a sexy spank saying “get it togetha!” Vs “bad girl!” (Unless you’re into that, which I’m not judging… but #tmi) It was the reminder to put my fcking phone down sometimes and not focus on how the lighting didn’t showcase the hues in my perfect fcking balayage, and just embrace the beautiful balayage I did in front of me… even more so… the babe that’s feelin herself with the hairgoals I just slaaaaayyyed…… because at the end of the day… whether 8 people follow you, liked it, saved it… wtf ever… or 161829393349345.2 did… your work was still as solid, that guest… was just as stoked, you just made $$$ … and your education, background and fcking hard work you put in… is still the same.

So next time you have an opportunity present itself, or find yourself doubting yourself  because you only got 600 views… 2 likes or lost followers… take your IG/social media goggles off…  and take a moment to experience everything you do and are as a stylist, person and babe…

…because that artificial  double tap ain’t got nothing on you babe