A DISAPPOINTING TRUTH

Not only do we see wealth dissatisfaction occur as a result of Instagram, but we also see businesses taking advantage of customers.

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I love @speedoscafe, but unfortunately they committed a foodie crime which is my absolute pet hate. When deciding on my meal, I checked their Instagram and saw the porridge (photo on the left) and was like holy shit that looks so good I'm DEFINITELY getting that. And then the plate on the right comes out… While it still looks pretty (and I have to admit it was tasty)… I couldn't help but feel a little let down when I realised that the photo I saw wasn't what the average customer receives. I know it's an Instagram era, but that doesn't mean our Instagram's can't be authentic or that we can't treat every customer the same. I wish I could excuse it to the weekend rush, but we went earlyish on a quiet Monday. (Anyway, there's my rant for the day! X)

A post shared by 📧 thelastbite.sydney@gmail.com (@thelastbite_sydney) on May 3, 2016 at 9:43pm PDT

In the Instagram post above, posted by a local food Instagrammer, we see the difference between the average dish served to a customer, and the dish served to an Instagrammer. This is in the hopes that serving such beautifully arranged foods to a social media influencer who will post it on their account for their thousands of followers to see, will attract more customers to their store.

The Instagram Economy will thus also investigate how businesses are capitalising on the posts of social media influencers and taking advantage of everyday customers, who undoubtedly would have paid a lot of $$’s ($17.90 to be exact) for a bowl of shoddily arranged porridge.

INSPIRATION FOR AN AESTHETICALLY PLEASING FEATURE

Appointed the role of Web Producer and Social Media Manager, I decided to draw inspiration for our blog from PBS Newshour’s, “New Adventures for Older Workers,” an interactive investigative feature.

 

Its interactive elements have inspired me to include polls and surveys into our feature, which will further engage our target audience and also yield primary research about the target audience which will assist in our investigation.

I also want to similarly employ its beautiful design and slick layout ideas into our feature. Thus, for the website we aim to create an aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate layout. This is of vital importance as our target audience are accustomed to viewing Instagram accounts by social media influencers which have a common theme, in regards to colour, photo filter and the similar nature in which photos are taken. This will work in the favour of The Instagram Economy’s brand clarity.

 

THE INSTAGRAM ECONOMY AND JUNKEE

Instagram is today one of the most popular social media applications, with 400 million active daily users, with the biggest user demographic being females aged 18-29 years old.

https://sproutsocial.com/insights/new-social-media-demographics/

According to previous studies conducted, it is this age and gender group which are most susceptible to online influences, especially the impact it has on their body image. This raised public concern when the media outlets began reporting on it, however all have failed to mention the wealth dissatisfaction which Instagram is causing.

This is how The Instagram Economy differs. Together with Junkee, The Instagram Economy will investigate the amount of money individuals spend on cultivating their online image and how this influences their perception of themselves.

But why Junkee? Junkee’s target audience aligns with the largest age demographics of Instagram, having over 100 published articles on Instagram and its effects on individuals.

Through this, we aim to reach out to our target audience and beyond, ultimately allowing everyone to feel good in the products that they are able to afford.

THE LIGHTBULB MOMENT

Our idea came to us in a “lightbulb moment” fashion, as Amber was scrolling through her Instagram feed. She came across a social media influencer’s Instagram upload of a flat lay featuring various items such as make-up and accessories; we all realised how expensive these items actually are and how an ordinary working individual – the Australian women’s median wage being $70,000 – in reality couldn’t afford such a life style. Cue the moment of despair when we realise that our part time retail jobs won’t allow us to splurge on a Gucci card holder valued at $290. We were suddenly hit with a feeling of wealth dissatisfaction.

Turning to your parents for money no longer works 😦

We began to research whether this phenomenon had been discussed in the media and found nothing of substance.

We took it upon ourselves to investigate how Instagram is causing wealth dissatisfaction and its effects on individuals.  Thus, The Instagram Economy was born.