“It’s okay. I found comfort in Youtube after being sick of my Instagram story taking ages to post,” said Charlotte Wong, one of the 16-year-old high-schoolers who experienced the 6-hour long Instagram breakdown.
It’s not just Instagram though. Facebook and Whatsapp also suffered a service outage on 5 October 2021, which started at around 11:39 PM (HKT).
This incident not only reflects how Facebook, the mother company of Instagram and Whatsapp, dominates the digital media market, but also how media companies have successfully owned the hearts of thousands of Gen-Z.
Charlotte pointed out how this 6-hour breakdown shed light on the gravity of Gen-Z’s dependence on social media. “It’s like we’d die when it just broke down for 6 hours,” she said. Some classmates of hers didn’t realize that they were scrolling through their Instagram feed way past midnight - not until this breakdown.
But it’s not only about pure entertainment. The breakdown also caused more serious issues as many rely on Whatsapp for daily communications. Chrysilla Chan, a local high-schooler who takes up several key leadership roles at her school expressed “frustration” when asked how she felt about the triplet breakdown.
“I didn’t know it was a global breakdown, and thought it’s only myself who didn’t get the messages on Whatsapp,” said Chrysilla. Worried about having multiple fingers pointed at her for not replying to the Whatsapp messages, the breakdown took an immense mental toll on her.
This wasn’t Facebook’s first time breaking down. Similar breakdowns happened in April and July this year “due to a network configuration issue”. That being said, Chrysilla said she would still stick with Whatsapp as her main communication channel, assuming others would do the same.
You know, I know, We all know - dependence and addiction to social media, but it doesn’t end there. What makes the relationship between Gen-Z and social media different from an ordinary consumer’s loyalty to Mark Zuckerberg’s services is the strong emotional element that is involved.
“Instagram was my everything,” said a 17-year-old teenager who prefers to go by the nickname Jay. You see, Jay is different from Wong’s and Chan’s cases - it’s not just dependence or addiction. Jay’s identity and social life are built upon Instagram - without Instagram, who should he be?
Socially awkward and introverted, Jay often finds himself ostracized by his peers in real life. But things are different on Instagram.
Despite having a diagnosis of anxiety disorder and regularly visiting his therapist, Jay eventually finds peace on Instagram - a safe place where he can talk about his daily struggles with his mental illness, a community with people who are going through the same toughness. More importantly, he made Internet friends who truly understood him and gained the support which he would otherwise not have found among his friends and family in reality.
When the breakdown hit, Jay said he was “desperate” and “didn’t know what to do”. He knew it was Instagram’s problem instead of his, but still, that was “the only place that feels like home.”
This is where the line between the relationship of Gen-Z and social media, and other forms of service providers is drawn. The identities of some Gen-Z are built entirely on social media - identities that they have to hide in reality, yet are their truest selves.
In an Instagram poll surveying 124 Gen-Z, 62% of participants said that they have 3 or more personal Instagram accounts, while 79 out of 98 participants said that they own a ‘finsta’ - short for ‘Fake Instagram’ account, like private accounts and fan accounts.
Unlike their ‘rinsta’ - which stands for ‘real Instagram’, - Gen-Z find their ‘finsta’ a place with less pressure to “look cute and cool 24/7,” according to Jay. Many people create ‘finsta’ anonymously to be their true selves and say what they want, without the fear of being judged by their peers.
When social media is gone, so are the identities of these Gen-Zs. “It’s the emotional attachment,” Jay said.
The problem is not only about Zuckerberg’s monopoly, but how Gen-Z builds their lives surrounding this fragile platform that is controlled by corporations for monetary purposes. It’s the high level of dependence and emotional attachment that keeps them drawn to social media. Older generations think this is making Gen-Z anti-social, while some Gen-Z find a way to cope with the traumatizing reality through social media. Either way, this interdependent relationship between Gen-Z and social media shows us how generations in our society evolve.
Writer: Joanne Yau
Editor: Gaille Su
Artist: Ran Zhao
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