Fame From Food and Fashion
February 27, 2014
Outfit: stunning; smile: wide; hashtags: present. With the snap of a camera and selection of the best filter, Diamond Bar High School junior Sharon Kim, like most other teenage girls, finishes up the final steps to posting a stunning “selfie” on the popular mobile app, Instagram. Yet, Sharon is a bit more than your average teen Instagram user. Boasting close to 2,000 followers, Sharon’s account “sharonnkim” is a diary of her daily life—one that comprises of food, fashion, and randomness that form an impressive collection of art.
The online site Instagram has become a common destination for online photo-sharers and gained much popularity within the past few years. Users share photos and videos with their followers and interact through picture messages and comments. Like many others, the attractiveness of the app soon had Sharon interested.
“I saw that everyone was downloading this popular app, so I decided to go do the same and downloaded it. I’ve probably been using it for more than two years now,” Sharon said.
Sharon started off by using the app as a form of entertainment. She followed her friends and posted pictures like most Instagram users. By the time she purchased her first iPhone, Sharon started to use her account daily. Soon she had over 1000 photos and almost twice that many followers on her Instagram.
“As time went by, people I knew started to follow me, as I followed them back. Every now and then I get those random followers, but mostly it is people I know. I’ve also received other fashion bloggers who are pretty famous for their fashion. Honestly I think all my followers are cool, and it’s great to know that they want to follow me,” Sharon said.
Sharon’s account is focused on the events of her daily life; she frequently posts pictures of her mouth-watering meals or snacks and presents regular “Outfit of the Day’s” (#ootd) for her loyal followers. Admired for her chic fashion sense and good taste around campus, her OOTDs have become quite well known by fellow Diamond Bar High School students who also use Instagram.
“I usually post [something] everyday of what I’m doing or what I’m eating if the food looks appetizing enough to be on Instagram,” Sharon said.
Although putting up pictures of ravishing meals, classy outfits, and lovely selfies get Sharon many likes, she finds posting pictures of her family to be her favorite; especially those with her dad.
“I love pictures I post with my dad because we don’t have too many photos of us together and when I take some, I usually post it up to make sure it’s secured somewhere I know I’ll look at a lot,” Sharon said.
In today’s society, Sharon sees Instagram as an excellent app that has a positive effect on her generation. She believes that it has helped bring many people closer together and allowed sharing one’s experiences with friends easier.
“What’s great about Instagram is that it keeps us entertained by seeing what others are doing visually. It benefited our society because people can also interact on the app and everyone’s more connected on what’s going on with their lives,” Sharon explained.
Sharon also has plenty of advice for fellow Instagram users. She recommends posting clear pictures and following users that frequently update their Instagrams to both learn from and enjoy their posts. Most of all, she encourages users to have fun and not worry about what others think.
“My advice is to just honestly have fun with the app. Just don’t care if people don’t follow you back, or if you don’t have too many followers, cause in the end it’s for your own entertainment,” Sharon shared.
