Who’s in the Spotlight on the Instagram Stage?
We live in a strange social media age where some things are kept secret, and things that were once considered secret are now much more visible. Perhaps it's more accurate to say we're experiencing it rather than just living in it, because this situation has transformed into an experience that draws the viewer in.
The Instagram world ranges from users who, despite all the available resources, keep advice that could benefit others a secret, to those who upload photos of themselves posing while their right hand is giving something to their left hand. Considering not only individual but also collective events worldwide, we have easier access to more information.
For example, deaths that we used to learn about from a newspaper article are now happening right before our eyes on Instagram, with images. While news of explosions once appeared in newspapers with just visuals, we now witness these events simultaneously, with sound and images. So, what kind of transformation does witnessing them so closely and, in such detail, create in people?
Possessing knowledge is the first step toward humanity's goal: to use knowledge to create transformation. For example, to treat a disease, it's necessary to identify and thoroughly study the bacteria, viruses, and pathogens that cause it. This knowledge process then continues with the aim of eliminating the disease or transforming it into a harmless form.
What are the societal consequences of these pathological situations? Genocides? Pandemics? Wars?
Today, we can witness many of these events visually and audibly. Sadly, it's no exaggeration to say we watch genocides in high resolution on our screens. Thus, we become not only spectators but also active participants in this process. This experience is no longer something observed from the outside; it has become something that engulfs us, transforming us as well.
In social psychology, the concept known as the "bystander effect" suggests that when others are present during an event, our likelihood of helping decreases. It's essentially a concept that scientifically explains how we become more isolated in our conscience as we become more surrounded by people.
Instagram has become one of the most intensely impactful places for the 'bystander effect' in modern times… Emotional states change rapidly through stories: one moment a war image, the next a gossip post… While the continuity of life is natural, regulating our emotions and protecting our values in the face of this flow is equally essential. The fact that life continues to flow doesn't mean that the suffering in another corner of the world doesn't resonate with us. On the contrary, what we need most in such times is to remember the fundamental values that come with being human.
When information is processed, it finds a response in our emotional world; this response lays the foundation for a world of meaning that is compatible with our values. However, experiencing and understanding information, along with the accompanying emotion, requires individual will and time. A person feels the need to pause to comprehend what they see. Following this comprehension, an emotion awakens; Feeling that emotion is the first step in processing the events we witness. Stopping might seem like a surreal expectation for the Instagram stories we scroll through in seconds. Continuously moving forward and being exposed to them is the most fundamental mechanism of desensitization.
Even without directly experiencing them, people can be traumatized by witnessing events; this is called secondary trauma. In this type of trauma, an interaction occurs between brain regions that process memory and emotion. If this process functions healthily, we can place a negative memory in our minds without disrupting our functionality by taking responsibility and transforming it. This power of transformation can be considered one of the most valuable psychological abilities humans possess.
We witness historical moments and become part of these experiences. Unfortunately, however, we are becoming increasingly desensitized to processing all of this.
Therefore, only one question remains nagging at us on the Instagram scene: Whose spotlight is on?
Written by: Clinical Psychologist Ayşe Selin Zorlu