03 / 08 / 2021
11 Minute Read

Escorts and the Instagram Story viewer: The power of filtered images.

You are an Instagram Story viewer, and you love it ... maybe you've already become addicted to it? The girls you follow on this platform make you dream and some of them even turn you on tremendously. But wait a minute ... as an Instagram Story viewer have you ever wondered why in "real life" you rarely meet this kind of phenomenal looking (almost unrealistic) women, although they seem to be all over social media? Well, the answer is straight forward: these ladies do not exist. Instagram particularly, is brimming with photos and beautifully fabricated storytelling…

Before diving into the heart of the matter in order to better understand what, the average male Instagram Story viewer (referred to in this article as a man, but there are also many women) is looking for in following escorts Instagram profiles, here is a quick reminder of what is an Instagram Story viewer.

 

What is an Instagram Story viewer?

An Instagram Story viewer views someone else stories directly within the Instagram app. When a story is being posted on Instagram, the system tracks who viewed it, how many times and the order of viewers. That's the definition I'll be using throughout this article, although there is also a second one. An Instagram Story viewer is also known as an external website or apps that allow users to view stories—often anonymously, without logging in or being detected by the original poster. This kind of tool is often used to view stories without being seen, watch public accounts without following them, save or download story content.

And for the most “has been” of you, who might not know what Instagram is all about, note that it is a social media platform that mainly centers around sharing photos and videos, enabling users to connect, express their creativity, and interact with others through visual content. Since its launch in 2010 and its acquisition by Meta (previously known as Facebook Inc.), Instagram has emerged as one of the most impactful digital platforms globally.

What keeps an Instagram Story viewer active on Instagram? An Instagram Story viewer remains engaged on the platform when the content they encounter is captivating, emotionally impactful, and readily available. In simpler terms, people keep watching stories when the visuals resonate with them, providing entertainment or value—whether on a personal, social, or aesthetic level.

 

What’s the problem with Instagram and why escorts use it so much?

An Instagram Story viewer tends to forget that images shared on Instagram can pose challenges as they frequently fail to portray a truthful or precise representation of their creators, leading to a skewed perception that impacts both the content creators and their viewers.

In fact, independent escorts have long since made their mark on Instagram. For some of them, the app has even become a real marketing tool to attract more customers. However, the images they choose to project is often distorted and here is how they proceed:

 

Curation above authenticity

As you may have probably understood by now, Instagram flourishes through meticulously crafted visual narratives. Content creators (here escort girls) often showcase only their finest moments: ideal lighting, appealing angles, and enhanced smiles. This careful curation results in a highlight reel rather than an authentic representation of everyday life—concealing stress, loneliness, failure, or insecurity. As a result, an Instagram Story viewer (a user who is into Sex Workers) find themselves measuring the type of women he usually meets against another's Instagram highlight reel, fostering unrealistic expectations and feelings of inadequacy.

 

Extensive use of filters and editing software

Thanks to Artificial Intelligence tools, it is now possible to embellish everything. Photos, selfies, videos, everything can be edited with one click and without the slightest effort. Most smartphones have this option integrated and can automatically edit photos taken. It has now become rare to see selfies/photos or even natural videos. Everything is being retouched and it would seem that without these enhancements, women nowadays find it difficult to accept their natural image. With applications such as FaceTune, Lightroom, and the filters available on social media, photos can be significantly modified, skin can be smoothed, waists can be made slimmer, lighting can be improved, and facial features can be reshaped. This being said, an Instagram Story viewer must realize that what he sees is not always the truth. These altered images play a role in creating unrealistic beauty standards and body image concerns.

 

Performance vs. Personality

Some escorts establish a personal "brand" that doesn't genuinely represent their true personality, the type of services they offer or wish to offer (GFE, FMTY, Erotic Massage…) or the way of life they are after, but instead focuses on what is most marketable or socially accepted (for instance, always appearing cheerful, wealthy, or highly productive). In truth, this can be quite different from their real selves when the cameras are off. As a result, an Instagram Story viewer might form parasocial relationships rooted in a false sense of closeness, while escorts may experience pressure to uphold an image that ultimately drains or alienates them.

 

Lack of context

A photograph can imply success, affection, or joy—but it seldom reveals the complete narrative. For instance: A lavish holiday could be financed through credit, a stay at an expensive hotel may have been fully paid by a client… This strategy enables some escorts to present themselves as luxury escorts (when in fact they are not at that level), or to justify the high prices of their services, which can sometimes be out of line with the average market rates. Consequently, an Instagram Story viewer who follows a few escorts on Instagram can make assumptions, which perpetuates misleading ideals.

 

The power of influencers

These women/celebrities (there are also men but definitely more women) who for the vast majority falls into the category of the “girl next door” are the ones who have the most influence on other female content creators (including escorts, of course). Despite what they try to make an Instagram Story viewer believe, these escorts content creators do not look like Supermodels but rather like normal/average girls, as 98% of women on this planet do.

The term influencer get thrown away a lot as it is an outcast profession. However, social media influencers have real influence on the people consuming their content. This is why advertisers are willing to pay good money to have their products or services put in front of a large audience that are being promoted by someone who is being trusted by that targeted audience. Brands find influencers’ marketing to be very important to their advertising campaigns.

Influencers are incentivized to get the Instagram Story viewer’s attention in any way possible. Unfortunately, most escorts influencers are going to extremes in altering their appearance to increase their number of followers while simultaneously multiplying the  “Likes” resulting to the quality of their content.

Instagram and the body image issue

In my opinion, Instagram is rising a body image issue in our society. 

When an Instagram Story viewer follows profiles of girls who are obviously escorts (whether their content is implicit or explicit on this subject), and who do their utmost to make their image appear as perfect as possible, this raises the Instagram Story viewer’s expectations and even creates expectations that are out of sync with the physical appearance of the vast majority of escorts. What's more, this phenomenon has a negative impact on the industry, because when an escort on Instagram looks like a Victoria's Secret supermodel and charges 300 CHF an hour, it's obvious that the Instagram Story viewer won't agree to pay the same rate for a more ordinary-looking girl, a reaction which in turn has a negative impact on the whole sex industry (this pushes down prices, as customers take the liberty of negotiating rates, competition between escorts intensifies, and the quality of the services being offered tends to drop). And yet, the girl next door does exist, whereas the Instagram girl, more often than not, is a contrived appearance who has learned to boast attributes she generally doesn't possess.

As for girls considering becoming an escort, preconceptions about how an escort should look like are of course skewed by images of women with perfect bodies, conveyed through social media such as Instagram.

Needless to say, exceptions do exist. However, what has become the norm shows that most Instagram influencers tend to use deception to promote a beauty standard which is unattainable, which affect negatively many people’s self-perception (Quali, 2024), while the highest paid and most popular of them can’t even reach the image they show case daily to an Instagram Story viewer. Whether it be through Photoshop, FaceTune, makeup or plastic surgery, they are using devices to trick the Instagram Story viewer into thinking there are authentic, leading to more and more young women feeling the need to get plastic surgery (Varman et al., 2021). The subconscious messaging that is being perpetuated is that young women’s only value is in how big they are on social media.

I see nothing wrong with people getting cosmetic/plastic surgery (although one does not need plastic surgery to become an escort). The problem I have is when influencers aren’t transparent about what they had done to look the way they look, are using FaceTune in Photoshop or consume steroids to enhance their appearance and publicly claim that it's the result of many hours spent in the gym. What makes it even worse is when these same people lie about their procedures and then endorse the promotion of products based on a false image…

A recent study tells us that 90% of young women active on social media use filters on their photos to enhance their appearance (Gill, 2021). So, why would you expect escorts to be the exception that proves the rule? Quite the contrary, escorts are heavy users of filters in all their visual content and any Instagram Story viewer should be aware of that. One of the sad consequences of this phenomenon is the rise in depression, suicide thoughts and mental issues among young adults, pushing sometimes some of them into sex work, not necessarily for the good reasons.

 

Sex Workers and Instagram

Although they cannot publish explicit content, if you are a male active Instagram Story viewer, you have found out a long time ago that the majority of escorts use social media (Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat ...) to directly or indirectly promote their image/services.

On Instagram, escorts are not immune to the influence of other girls and of course edit their photos to look younger, slimmer, more muscular ... Despite appearances, a huge number of escorts lack self-confidence, are full of insecurities and constantly need validation of their beauty and/or attractiveness. For some, being an escort helps them to gain self-confidence and to learn how to love and accept themselves. Compliments from clients help build acceptance of who they really are. Insults and criticisms from men (and from women) can have the opposite effect and further undermine their self-esteem.

It’s very rare to meet escorts who present themselves without disguising their image. This reality can be observed in Switzerland as well as in the rest of the world, where it is possible to pay for sexual services. In Switzerland (where sex work is legal and regulated), most escorts portals aren’t tackling this problem as they show no concern, nor they take any accountability about the integrity of the content published on their platforms while only focusing on the revenue it generates. Only a very few numbers of escorts sites in Switzerland (their number can be counted on the fingers of one hand) are qualitative, reliable, transparent and operate with certain values and ethics.

 

The Instagram Story viewer looking for an escort: What to keep in mind?

Instagram images can pose challenges as they frequently highlight looks rather than genuine self-expression, favor interaction over truthfulness, employ digital editing to showcase an idealized version of reality, foster unattainable standards for both content creators and the Instagram Story Viewer following them. However, this doesn’t imply that Instagram is fundamentally detrimental—it simply necessitates thoughtful analysis and media awareness to use it wisely.

As an Instagram Story viewer who is reading this article and who is into escorts, you now know that since even selfies and videos are not spared from filters and are nowadays extensively used for bait and switch, you should redirect your choices towards independent escorts who use natural/authentic content (selfies, photos, videos). There are very few out there who are trustworthy, but you can still find them if not being lied to is important to you. While choosing your escort service, stay away from fake images and prefer those girls who try to be honest, so you don't make the wrong choice and end up with a girl who has nothing to do with the photos used in her ad.

Janet - The Velvet Rooms

 

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