It’s a great thing to be a Millennial. We get all of the perks of growing up as old-school kids as well as the privileges of modern technology. We are a generation of outspoken, opinionated and smart individuals with access to the most up-to-date technology yet. Social media is one of the most powerful forms of technology we possess. We can utilize the media to have our audience to think what we want them to think. We all have a different perception of ourselves and want people to look at us a certain way on social media, so much so that we have let Facebook, Twitter and Instagram literally take over our lives. But why? What is the point?
Have you ever asked yourself why you decided to post a picture on Instagram? Let’s start at the beginning.
- Plan out a hang out day with your friends.
- Pick out a really cute outfit, preferably one that everyone can wear, plus a really outlandish accessory that gives you cool points.
- Your makeup should always be camera-ready.
- Go to this hang out spot and take pictures. And when I say take pictures, I mean, really take some pictures. Like one hundred or so.
- Try some new poses. Get some hand-holding pictures, some laughing ones, some with your mouth hanging wide open to make it seem like you’re having a lot more fun than you think you are.
- Look at the pictures and tell the photographer, “Can you try it at a different angle? I look fat.”
- When you’re done with the pictures, spend the rest of the hangout time editing them on your phone.
- Here comes the worst part: the caption. A picture is nothing if the caption sucks.
And finally, the last (and most overlooked) step: question yourself as to why you put this much effort into a picture. Truly ask yourself. For Instagram likes? For popularity? For what? Sure, all that time spent on a mini-photoshoot will make for some great pictures, but they're not real.
Why did you spend precious friendship time on your phone editing a picture? Why did half of your conversation contribution begin with, “Can you help me with this caption”? You don’t want people to think your life is lame, so you amp it up by documenting every minute of your life. You Perfect365 your face to make it skinnier and your eyebrows darker and your lashes thicker so people will think you’re literally that perfect all the time. But it’s not true. None of it is true. Maybe it’s not them who is judging you, but yourself. Maybe you're the one who thinks your life is lame. You're the one who thinks you're so ugly that you have to retouch your face with a beauty app.
Not that I'm saying that this whole process doesn't apply to me. I definitely partake in this thought process and sometimes will post pictures for attention and for likes. It just never occurred to me as to why I began in the first place.
We live in a time where social media controls how we see people and how we see ourselves. A face-to-face connection with someone is hard to come by and we so rarely judge each other on in-person experiences. Read through someone’s Twitter account and you’ll get a glimpse into their brain. If you scroll through someone’s Instagram profile, you can see how they want people to see their lives. It's a different type of reality when it's on the Internet because you are who you want to be when you're posting pictures or tweeting feelings. You can be whoever you want.
For those of you who did not get dragged into the literal stupidity of social media popularity, I applaud you. I don’t know how you didn’t get suckered in, but consider yourself lucky.
