In the weeks following the record-breaking first post by @world_record_egg, the account has posted a series of images showing the egg slowly cracking. Different companies and organizations have been fighting for the right to monetize the egg and have their company be the first to hatch out of it. This advertisement was seen as a great marketing strategy to spread the word about a company, organization, or product.
Nik Sharma, the head of the digital agency VaynerMedia’s direct-to-consumer business, said, “Being the first brand to crack out of the egg is worth at least $10 million.”
Companies were willing to pay large sums of money to be hatched out of the egg, but the world_record_egg took a different approach. On February 4th, the egg posted a video, where it speaks to its followers through speech bubbles. Instead of the egg cracking to reveal a company or anything coming out of it, the egg shattered and the shell fell to the floor, revealing that the egg had been empty.
The egg explained, “Recently I’ve started to crack. The pressure of social media is getting to me. If you’re struggling too, talk to someone. We got this.”
The video ends with a website for followers to visit. It takes the viewer to a page with links to multiple mental health links in varying countries. There are a total of 48 links between the United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Spain, Russia, Portugal, Norway, Malaysia, Netherlands, India, Germany, Finland, Egypt, Denmark, Czech Republic, Canada, Brazil, Africa, Austria, and Australia. There are also two more links for mental health organizations that can help people anywhere in the world.
Social media has become a stressor for teens, triggering anxiety and depression. To prevent succumbing to the pressures of social media, it is important to occasionally take a break and recuperate. Remember that there is more out there than what is on your screen. Set limits for the time you spend online, and make sure you go out and interact with the real world.
Abbie Oh Arroyo (‘21) said, “It’s really cool that they took something that was seen as a joke and did something good and useful with it.”
World_record_egg took the moral approach with its big announcement when it decided to focus on mental health instead of accepting money for an advertisement. Not only does this platform spread awareness for the issue, but it also makes finding help with mental health problems easier for Instagram users.
