Does this sound familiar? You’re scrolling through your Instagram feed when you see a perfectly composed picture that makes you feel simultaneously inspired and depressed. “That person’s life looks so fun and exciting – and nothing like mine.” It’s such a common occurance that it has its own name in some circles: Instagram disease. A recent report from the UK puts some science behind the obvious, concluding at one point: “Instagram easily makes girls and women feel as if their bodies aren’t good enough as people add filters and edit their pictures in order for them to look ‘perfect’.”

Exciting – and not what new pilots should expect.

Instagram disease isn’t just an issue for middle school girls; you could easily replace “girls and women” above with “student pilots” and replace “bodies” with “flying.” Above a hashtag like #pilotlife or #instaaviation, you’ll often see a picture of an exotic seaplane on a fishing trip in the Bahamas, a tundra tire taildragger landing on a remote river bed in Utah, or an airline pilot posing like a model with an “I worked all morning to look like I just fell out of bed” look.

It’s alluring, but it’s not real life.

This is not meant as a rant against social media or “kids these days” – there are plenty of positives to go along with the downsides, and I do think Instagram (and YouTube and other platforms) have introduced aviation to a whole new generation of aviation enthusiasts. Besides, aviation is exciting and rewarding and challenging – at times. The issue isn’t so much the technology, but our reaction to it.

In their zeal to share the most extreme emotions of flying (or more likely, to add followers), some #pilotsofinstagram are hurting the community they claim to love. By overselling aviation’s adventure and romance, they make it more likely that a new pilot will be disappointed by a regular cross country from Dayton to Ft. Wayne in a 60-year old Cherokee. Like a teenager who feels inadequate compared to a model, the typical pilot can quickly feel like they’re doing something wrong. Even worse, such posts might encourage new pilots to push the envelope by flying low or trying risky flights, with serious safety implications.