Instagram and YouTube have revolutionized the way people consume media and interact with one another. With an estimated 1.4 billion users worldwide, social media platforms like Instagram are now essential for business, education, entertainment, and communication.
Their popularity has also led to increased commodification of erotic intimacy through likes, follows, and monetization. This trend poses challenges to authentic desire and creates a pervasive sense of performative sexuality.
To understand the relationship between commodification and psychological dissonance, it is important to consider how people perceive desires, sexuality, and intimacy. Desire is an emotional state characterized by wanting something. It is often connected to physical sensations and cognitive processes that motivate action. Sexuality refers to the expression of gender identity and sexual attraction towards others. Intimacy, meanwhile, involves sharing personal thoughts, feelings, and experiences with someone else.
In a capitalist society, goods and services are bought and sold. Commodification is the process of turning everything into a product or service, including desires, sexuality, and intimacy. On Instagram, creators post photos and videos showcasing themselves in suggestive positions, engaging in acts of intimacy, or portraying certain body types as attractive. By doing so, they can increase their followers and earn money from sponsored posts and advertising deals. This market-based approach to erotic content creates confusion about what is real and what is performance.
The problem lies not only in the commodification but also in the way these images shape viewers' expectations and behaviors. People begin to internalize them as norms for desirable bodies and relationships, leading to anxiety about authenticity. They may feel pressured to emulate unrealistic standards of beauty or behavior, which can cause psychological distress. Even if they don't, they might struggle to communicate their true wants and needs due to the commercialization of desire. As such, performative sexuality becomes the norm rather than genuine connection.
To overcome this dissonance, individuals must first recognize its impact on self-esteem and communication. They should seek support groups and therapy to understand their own values and boundaries.
They should be critical consumers of social media content, questioning the motivations behind it and looking beyond surface appeal.
People should prioritize meaningful interactions with loved ones over likes, follows, and monetary gain. Only then can they reclaim their authentic sexuality and promote healthy intimacy.
To what extent does the commodification of erotic intimacy through likes, follows, and monetization on Instagram and YouTube create psychological dissonance between authentic desire and performative sexuality?
The commodification of erotic intimacy through likes, follows, and monetization on Instagram and YouTube has created a significant psychological dissonance between authentic desire and performative sexuality. This phenomenon is characterized by the fact that users often feel pressured to present themselves as sexually desirable or performatively sexy in order to attract more followers and make money from their content.