i’ve been sporadically deleting different social media platforms on my phone for the last few months just to test how i cope without them. snapchat was the first casualty, i only use twitter via web browser instead of app now, but instagram i can’t seem to get rid of for good.
it fills a really specific need. you can show a portfolio of the prettiest visual parts of your life! you can even airbrush and filter them to make them more aesthetically wonderful! you can capture such specific moments/angles/colours that you’re essentially building up a moodboard of your ideal self. not only that, but you can cultivate an AUDIENCE who can positively interact with your posts! people are becoming INFLUENCERS on this platform! people are now having their entire job be social media.
yesterday i watched someone’s 15 minute long youtube video where they described how they edit their instagram photos to make their outfit colours match the background colours. for a while i was pretty enthused by this concept (ooo, pretty, i wanna try) and downloaded the app. i played around on it for a bit and then i began to question why i was doing it. like, who is actually getting pleasure out of it? am i more satisfied because i’ve made my denim jacket match my bedsheets? does anyone watching it actually give a fuck?
social media is basically horrendous ego. it’s deciding that someone has to care, and that’s why you’re putting out content. not that dissimilar to writing! i’m so ramped up with self-importance that i want my entire living to be strangers reading books i’ve written, and liking them! ego can make people uncomfortable because it’s a bit confrontational to be so self-assured. i’ve got a big ego for sure, but i’m still somehow judgemental of people who seem to have a bigger one than me! it’s tricky. humility is a good trait, so is confidence!
all in all, i started to identify that i’d consciously think to myself ‘i haven’t uploaded to instagram in a while. i’d better take a good photo soon’. then i sort of realised, nobody gives a flying fuck about what i’m up to and it’s probably better to remember that. i’m just one of those people who likes to constantly put out content into the world (i mean, i have a fucking blog in 2019 jeez) but i am by no means expecting anyone to care. good that they don’t. i’m sure we all have better things to be doing anyway