It was just the other day that I met someone and we exchanged Instagram names.
I guess this is the thing to do when you meet someone new, after exchanging phone numbers (if you're even that lucky).
Anyhow, I started looking through said person's Instagram, and I was rather surprised. The pictures on their profile looked nothing like they did in real life. Sure, you could tell they were the same person, but the person I was sitting next to and the person on Instagram seemed like two separate beings.
This got me to thinking because, naturally, I was confused. How could this chatty, friendly, easygoing, smiley person sitting next to me be the person with duck lips and serious faces, posing half nude?
Welcome to the cyber-world.
I've come across it many times in my life, this kind of situation. You spend some time with someone, get to know them, and then you come across their social media, and it's totally not in sync with the person you know. They look different, whether that be body contortion, lighting, makeup, or acne removal, they caption things that don't seem like it would come out of their mouth, and their persona has completely changed. It's like social media gives you the opportunity to pose as someone else -- whether it's someone you aspire to be, or perhaps what you think might be popular. And of course it's not my place to judge, but I always wonder: why?
Why would someone post things, or pose in pictures, that aren't representative of who they are? Too many times I've known someone with an incredible personality who just posts bikini pictures and flirty captions. Is it for attention? Popularity? Self-confidence?
It makes me sad, almost. Social media of course has incredible benefits: such as being inspired, keeping in contact, and sharing content with the world at the touch of a button. But it can also be incredibly misleading. It can be superficial, and while it has amazing power to do good, it can just as easily be used to promote something fake.
It reminds me of the TED talk with supermodel Cameron Russel. She talks about the power of image, how it can be so easy to change someone's appearance into something so superficial. And we, as consumers, buy it.
It's not about image. It's not about how many followers you have or how many likes you get on photos. It's not about popularity, and being "Instagram famous." It's about who we are as people. It's about how we make people feel, how we make people laugh, how we inspire and grow as individuals. Yes, Instagram is wonderful for seeing photos and captions of your friends and influencers, but it shouldn't be our whole world.
We mustn't forget that it's not about how we look, but about who we are. I mean, how do you want to be remembered? By having three million followers on social media, or about making a positive difference in this world?
Just remember, what you see isn't all there is. What matters most in a person is their soul, their personality, their humor, their knowledge, their wisdom, and their ability to do good.
Instagram might get you noticed, but wouldn't you rather be remembered?
