Hi Cactina,
People tend to only post "what they want people to see". Photoshop also does wonders when it comes to photos. Just saying...
I don't really like social media due to the fact nothing is private anymore. I do tend to see a lot of drama arise from it which is why I avoid it. I usually only follow crafters and artists and use social media more of tools to promote art more than anything. That's pretty much it. I'm 28, and all my friends yell at me for not being online and posting much or accepting their event invites, but I'd rather live my life than document it every ten minutes or so for the world to see. If they want to get in touch, they can call me or text me.
I often wonder how people have the time to post so much... during all hours of the day, too.
I'd say if social media is something you really want to be involved with, you can hide certain publishers and posts or unfollow them. Or, just pick topics that interest you as the above poster mentioned. There is nothing boring about you! I actually removed most of my social media apps because I just didn't have time to keep up with everyone's arguing and drama.
I do use IG for art purposes and from research, a lot of what you see is most likely fake. I've had "high traffic models" with thousands of followers "follow me" only to ask for money (scammers!) and it wouldn't surprise me at all if a lot of accounts on there are bots anyways using stolen images from somewhere on the net. That or the images are highly edited to attract fans to sell/ push products on people. A lot of it is a marketing scheme to sell and push products and promotions from what I am gathering. I run an IG business profile and every time I log in it always asks me to push promotions! It's a money thing. Some I'm sure are probably legit- but I wouldn't hold my breath with any of it.
Either way- I wouldn't let it bog you down too much! Anyone can edit photos and make themselves look more glamorous than they really are for the attention and following. Try to find postings that make you happy and that you enjoy- whether it be pet related, crafting/ hobby related, or simply interests that make you happy.