Blog #5: Instagram Can Do What!?

      For the purpose of this blog, I'll be reflecting on the Instagram terms of service and user policy. I chose Instagram because it correlates directly with the reading on #BikiniBridge we did for class just a couple of days ago. It's also a form of social media that I use with relative frequency, and I've never read their terms of service, so I thought this was a good opportunity to do just that. I've gathered a couple of screenshots from the terms of service, but as it's mostly text, I'll just be providing quotations of the important bits that represent just how much social media platforms like to cover themselves. These key points will be how, in general, Instagram has a shared license with any work you produce, can track your information and what ads you like, and is well within their rights to sell any information they gather on your activity to advertisers.
      To start, Instagram has express permission to use any work you produce on their site, including your profile. As it is stated in the Instagram terms of service, by making a profile, you give Instagram "permission to use your username, profile picture, and information about your relationships and actions with accounts, ads, and sponsored content" (found here under "permissions you give to us). Instagram has complete access to what we post, from a basic picture of a hotdog to someone posing to show off their "beach bod." So maybe think twice the next time you want to post a selfie because Instagram could technically use it in an ad, and you can't argue against its use because you technically agreed when you made your Instagram account. So now we need to talk about just why these Terms of Service are so damn long. You see, you're not really supposed to read these. In fact, most companies are hoping that you don't, with the express reasoning that you won't have any issue with the things the company can do until they do them, and by that point you've already given your consent, just without your knowledge. And is that really consent? No, but its the law.
      Now, personally I never read the Terms of Service when I make a new profile on a social media website, or any other website for that matter. My reasoning has always been that the Terms of Service exists mainly as a way to prevent people from pirating, emulating, stealing information, or participating in other acts that I myself would never do. However, after reading the Instagram Terms of Service, we're actually giving them a lot more freedom than just saying "I will not commit crimes." One particular example is how Instagram says "You can't impersonate others or provide inaccurate information" (found here under "How you can't use Instagram"). On the surface, this just sounds like another "I will not commit crimes" thing. However, and maybe I'm misreading this, but it also sounds like the idea of "Finstas," or fake Instagram accounts - where people post things they don't want parents, professors, and employers to see - may actually be against Terms of Service. Now this idea

may not necessarily be true, as the following lines are, "You don't have to disclose your identity on Instagram, but you must provide us with accurate and up to date information" (found under "How you can't use Instagram). Whether or not this prohibits something like a Finsta, which may just be hiding your identity rather than impersonating another, it does provide another example of vague ToS language that tends to say, "you're not in trouble until I say you are."
       One of the last things I want to discuss is how Instagram relates to our reading on body image. The very first sentence in our reading on body image says, "Social media websites such as Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter provide visual and verbal representations of idolized body images" (Drenten and Gurrieri, 2017, p. 49). We've all used Instagram or one of these other social media sites at one point or another, and have undoubtedly taken part in the discussion about body image. Regardless of our beliefs, social media sites like Instagram are pushing their own message forward by giving a platform for "thinspiration" culture, as well as selling user information to advertisers. How many people who may feel insecure about their weight get weight loss ads because of Instagram's algorithm? This marketing creates an unhealthy stigma that keeps the physical nature of a person's body constantly on their mind. It can cause depressive thoughts when really they're fine the way they are. In that same reading, we see that "previous research suggests the prevalence of thin models in advertising [that] can negatively affect body image perceptions and evaluations of one's own attractiveness (Drenten and Gurrieri, 2017, p. 49). When we look at all the "perfect" pictures on

Instagram, we never consider what has gone into taking those pictures. Other students in class talk about how pictures on Instagram especially have to look "perfect," which leads to them retaking a picture nearly 20 times. Not only that, but there are even memes associated with women sucking in their gut for nearly 10 minutes straight trying to get a picture of what they think the "perfect" body type is. But it doesn't exist. It's just something that society has convinced them is superior.
        To finish off my thoughts on this, Instagram is pretty much a place where people go to put their best pictures, and Instagram thanks them by essentially sharing in the rights to use and advertise those same images simply because they exist. We should probably be more diligent in reading the ToS provided by these companies, but let's be honest: we're still going to use the service even if we disagree with their Terms. The best we can do is read the things that are bolded and capitalized so we know not to post TOO much dumb stuff about ourselves. You really never know when it will pop up again, especially when the site you're on is selling it to advertisers and using it themselves.

Citations:

Drenten, Jenna and Gurrieri, Lauren. (2017). "Crossing the #BikiniBridge: Exploring the Role of
       Social Media in Propagating Body Image Trends." The Dark Side of Social Media: A 
       Consumer Psychology Perspective. (A. C. Scheinbaum, Ed.). Routledge.