Our generation loves to show off what we are doing, or at least what we want the world to think we are doing. As college students, we use someone’s Instagram account to get a lot of information about that person. For example, pictures with red cups indicate a party person while pictures with nature probably indicate a more low-key individual.
But really, how accurate is the picture we are painting, or posting, of ourselves? Here are four ways our real selves differ from our Insta-selves because unless you make the whole world wear tinted sunglasses, you definitely do not look like that picture of you with the Kelvin filter on.
Your friends in your pictures vs. your actual friendsWe are all guilty of this. We post pictures of us with groups of people who we don’t necessarily even know that well. We show it off to the world as if to say, “Look how many people enjoy my company!” I have posted my fair share of group photos in which I can honestly say I couldn’t even tell you the names of half the people posing with me. And no, in real life I do not constantly surround myself with strangers and people whose names I have not yet learned. This may seem insignificant, but the fact that many of us do this shows that we want to be perceived as popular and loved by many. There is nothing wrong with this, but probably a more effective way of gaining the friendship and affection of others is through a talk over coffee, rather than a tag over Instagram.
That wonderful boy in your pic vs. the same boy who won’t text you backHe looks so good standing next to you in that blue button-down shirt at your last grab-a-date, but where was he the day after? The week after? Who knows? But your followers just know of him as that boy in the picture from two weeks ago. That nicely edited photo you posted to showcase your boy of the night, and maybe just to make some past boys jealous, is just that: an edited photo. That smiling cutie was just “cropped” into your life for the night, but he will live on infinitely in the depth of the social media world. No one has to know he hasn’t ever texted you back since that slightly intoxicated “heyy” last Saturday night.
Your selfie makeup vs. your real makeupUnfortunately, Perfect365 is not a makeup product sold in stores. Your skin might not be as pore-less and smooth as it is in your selfie, and your winged eyeliner probably doesn’t have that sharp of an angle. Perhaps this is what inspired many women to take the “makeup free challenge” seriously and only post photos of themselves without makeup on. Perhaps, it is more freeing to be accepted by our physical imperfections than “liked” for a Photoshopped version of our face. But sure, a little editing here and there to cover up a blemish isn’t hurting anybody.
“Yeah I own this” vs. “No I don’t”There is nothing wrong with posting pictures of things that are not yours because let’s face it, freedom of expression is alive and well. But, I do find it kind of strange when people pose in pictures in dressing rooms wearing clothes they don’t own. Yeah, that romper is cute, but the price tag hanging off it really isn’t. Likewise, that really artsy picture of a cappuccino looks nice, but please don’t claim it to be “your morning creation” when you actually stole the photo off Tumblr. Social media should be used to capture and embrace pivotal parts of our lives, not part of our blogs’ life.
I didn’t write the guide on social media, and I am by no means the queen of the Insta-world. This is just a little perspective on how we should perhaps portray ourselves more accurately in the realm of social media. After all, your pictures will stay in the digital world forever, so you might as well have your infinite mark be one that actually resembles you.