Don't lie to yourself. We've all been scrolling through our Instagrams and looked at pictures of ourselves that are cringe-worthy. Those pictures way back in our feed seem to haunt us. They include pictures with exes, ex-best friends, and with awkward stages that we went through. Because social media has become all about how we portray ourselves, we simply just delete the pictures because we don't want others to see. We think to ourselves... what if the new guy I'm talking to sees those pictures? What if someone screenshots them and sends them around? I think this is one of the main issues with social media right now, which is why I'm posing a challenge to all of you.
For the next year, I urge you to participate in the No-Delete Instagram Challenge.
Yes, I just made this up.
Could it become a real thing? I really think it could.
I think we need to start a movement, simply because our generation has come to believe that deleting pictures is an easy way to portray ourselves differently. The fact is that those pictures, even the awkward ones and the ones we can't explain, all have a purpose. They serve to remind us that life isn't always perfect. None of us have been perfect from the time we got a social media account up to now. It's just not possible.
I'm guilty of deleting past pictures because I don't want new people to find my social media and see those pictures of me. But from this point forward, for the next year, I am going to try my hardest to keep all the pictures of me on my social media that I regret posting later on.
I hope to gain something from this. I hope that it will make me more confident with who I am as a person. I hope that leaving those embarrassing pictures on my feed will make me more comfortable in my own skin. If I can leave those pictures up for the world to see, then why would I be uncomfortable about my appearance?
I won't force anyone to do this with me. However, if you do choose to do so, I would like to hear about how it influences you and your self-confidence as time goes on. I really think that so many people would benefit from this experience.