Everyone wants to seem their best, and Instagram has become a way for people to project the version of themselves that they wish they were to their followers. Unfortunately, this has created a system that rewards people for looking fake and creates unrealistic standards for others. However, it can still be funny--and here are 15 great examples of Instagram vs. Reality that show the most desperate ways that people try to deceive us.
Here's a perfect example, the picture on the left is Justin Bieber skateboarding like a superstar on Instagram, but the photo on the right is a candid of the star failing at riding a skateboard in the real world. The perfect example.
When photos are posted on Instagram, sleep always looks cozy and makes the person sleeping look amazing. In the real world, sleeping is sloppy, lazy and makes you look like a bear who intends to hibernate for the entirety of the winter.
Compare the way that a selfie looks when you see it on social media, versus the work that goes in behind the scenes in order to make the photo look good. People will risk death in order to capture the perfect picture.
Partying looks so glamorous on social media, like when people post cool party pics on Instagram. In real life, however, partying involves a lot of drunk people who look sloppy, tired and their absolute worst. Partying is a great example of Instagram versus the real world.
Looking good on social media involves a bit of magic, the person involved tries their best to look, well, their best. That's why they make for great examples of how Instagram deceives us. This person looks great in both photos, but they look like a model on the left.
Couples try to look their best on social media, and tend to create a fake reality on Instagram where they look like everything is going perfectly. In reality, however, relationships are much more messy and involve a lot of fighting that doesn't make it's way to social media pictures.
This great example shows someone pretending to be in a relationship through the clever use of a hoodie and some stuffing. When we zoom out, however, we are able to see that in reality this was merely an attempt to deceive the viewer.
Here's another example of fake glamour, with people pretending that the nightlife is a glamorous thing. In reality, nights out can get really messy and involve a lot of mistakes being made all over the place by just about everyone involved.
Surfing always looks so cool in social media pictures, but most people don't look quite as cool when they're really standing on the board. Surfing is a great example of expectation vs reality, as you probably won't be able to look as cool as you think you will.
What we eat is a big part of how we present ourselves, and most people make an extended effort to fake what they eat in order to make it seem like they're living a certain lifestyle. Here is a great, comedic example of what someone pretends to eat, versus what they actually eat.
This is a really funny image that shows how yoga can be faked on Instagram in order for people to make it seem like they're performing impressive stunts. In reality, they're cheating your eye by using only the visible part of the frame.
Here's another example of someone looking cute on a Sunday and trying to act like they were "caught off guard" but in reality they've clearly put some effort into looking good. This shows the difference between what Sunday looks like on Instagram, versus what it looks like in real life.
People always attempt to look amazing on social media, in order to make themselves feel good and gain the biggest audience they can. This is especially prevalent on Instagram, and photos like this are a satirical look at the issue at hand.
This blogger posted this as a way to expose fake Instagram models who create an unnatural expectation of beauty with carefully coordinated photos that don't show the whole reality. They're a great example of how Instagram is used to lie to us.
Fake clothing is another part of social media, as people use fake shoes and fake brands in order to make themselves seem wealthy. There are entire accounts dedicated ot pointing out fake articles of clothing worn by celebrities on Instagram.
