Regardless of whether we’d like to admit
it or not, social media provide a platform that facilitates a constructed
reality. Think about how you feel when you want to post a selfie. You try and
get the perfect lighting, angle and position. Then once you’ve taken an
abundance of photos, you sift through the 100 that look almost identical to
find the perfect one. Once you’ve found the perfect one, you then edit that
photo, whether it’s spending ages on VSCO, or lightroom, or even just an
instagram filter. Then when you have finally got the perfect photo, you post it
hoping that lots of people will see it and like it.
My point is, it’s rare that someone will
post a picture just taken in the moment, love it what it is and upload it,
without thinking about if it’s a prime time to post, or without editing it in
some way. It’s rare that you (and I) will take a photograph when we’re stressed,
or upset, or heartbroken. Social media is very much about putting the
highlights of our lives online for people to see and don’t get me wrong,
there’s nothing wrong with that. But at the same time, it’s easy for us as
onlookers to view a photo that someone has put online and it may be a photo in
a coffee shop, or your bedroom and think that someone’s life is perfect. We
don’t see the abundance of clothes thrown out of shot so that people don’t see
a messy room. My all time favourite is when I was on holiday with some friends
a few years back, and someone borrowed someone else’s drink just for the photo.
Granted, the photo turned out cool, but it just wasn’t real.
One day, my aunty was looking through
some of my photos and said that my life looks really fun, but it’s really not.
For the past however many years, my life has consisted of work, university and
home. I’m not someone who’s into drinking, unlike most people my age, so my
social life is lacking to say the least. But looking at my instagram, you’d
think I live a pretty lucrative life, but I really don’t.
A few weeks ago, when I was editing my
photos, and came across this photo and for a split second, I didn’t recognise
the person in the photo. Obviously I knew it was me, but I looked at the photo
as if I was someone else and when I looked at it, I saw someone who was happy
with life – the sun was beaming, highlight glowing and everything just looked –
content. The girl in the photo looks content, with life. Needless to say, I am
that girl in the photograph, and I am anything but. Anyone who knows me in my
personal life (especially Tom, who is the receiver of many a-phone calls
consisting of me crying in my car), knows the struggles I go through on a daily
basis and know that I put a smile on merely to get through the day.
In all honesty, I don’t really know the
point of this post, I guess it was just a ramble to hone in on my thoughts,
because seeing that photo really struck a cord with me.
Anywho, what do you think about social
media? Let me know your thoughts!
S H O P T H E L O O K
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