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Much has been made recently over the link between social media and our mental health, particularly when it comes to Instagram. In May, a study purported that Instagram may be the worst app for your mental health, while a study released in September found that those perfectly filtered square photos could be ruinous for your body image.
However, as anyone knows, it's more about how you use Instagram and the role it plays in your life. After all, social media can also provide platforms for people to rally for important causes and to spread messages of positivity.
This year, Instagram is shining the spotlight on users who are using the app to rally people behind important issues, from mental health to gender identity. The Instagram community team has shared with Refinery29 that communities of support were a major trend on the platform this year, writing in a statement that in 2017, Instagram users came together on issues within the LGBTQ+ community, discussions around mental health and recovery, sex and body positivity, as well as women collectives and artists promoting female issues.
"This year, we really saw kindness shine through on the platform," Ashley Chapman, an Instagram spokesperson, said in a statement. "Communities of support bubbled up and people were supporting each other in the most positive way. Instagram’s community rallied together around important topics — and that caught the community team’s eye this year."
Sure, these issues have been around for way longer than just 2017 alone, but given that this year hasn't exactly been a cakewalk, they're more important than ever. And if there's any
"trend" we can get behind, it's the uplifting kind that encourages people to speak out on what they believe in.
"trend" we can get behind, it's the uplifting kind that encourages people to speak out on what they believe in.
Ahead, take a look at a few trending accounts that the Instagram team has highlighted as trailblazers in their respective communities of activism and art.
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