Social media is a finicky and portrayals are almost never in alignment with who we really are. After all, are we always the same on media as we are in person?
This past week on Instagram, I posted a picture of the me and the other three Banner Students of our grade leading the line in graduation with the middle school banner. At BB&N, it is typically considered honorable to be nominated a Banner Student, and at graduation, our duty is to lead the eighth graders into the gym. I got the most likes I have ever gotten on a single post from this picture.
But when I looked back at the picture yesterday, it made me realize how “perfect” I may have seemed to an outsider who didn’t know me well, being clad in an ivory white lace dress, hidden behind a layer of makeup, walking stiffly in four inch heels. It is deeply embedded in my values that perfection doesn’t exist. I believe there can always be a better. However, this I realized, was what social media failed to express: that perfection did not exist.
As I was scrolling through other people’s posts yesterday, this idea began to take a fuller shape. No one, it seemed to me, posted pictures of “trouble”, “struggle”, or “challenge”. Most people posted pictures smiling after climbing a mountain, relaxing at the beach with iced tea, or dancing at a pop music concert. In essence, people posted pictures of themselves at their best, which had lead me to believe that social media can be a little bit one sided. Who wants to post pictures of trouble, struggle, failure and challenge? Our true selves aren’t accurately represented in media as we are in person. Media has the power to hide our struggles and our failures, sharing only the best parts of ourselves.
For example, let’s say that someone posted a picture/video of themselves finishing a marathon, speedily running through the finish line, receiving a host of cheers and smiling brightly after running 26.2 miles. Viewers are inclined to see a radiant, successful and proud runner. In addition, this same person who just ran the marathon, may have posted a picture of themselves graduating from a top university, holding their degree in their hands. Then, they may have posted a picture of themselves at a massive pop music concert, dancing and singing along happily. As viewers of this person’s profile, we may forget that they are still human. They may seem “perfect” to us, being smart, athletic, yet equally knowing of how to balance this all out with fun. An honest confession: I know I am one who is easily envies people who find this harmonious balance of intellect, athleticism, and enjoyment of life. Sometimes I do not see the arduous training regimen that went into the training for the marathon, or the hours spent studying to obtain admission and finally the hard work that went into graduating from that top university. We are inclined to see only the product of this hard work. The work behind all these achievements is too easily hidden.
I believe as I further interact with social media, I must remember not only to see the picture that’s being taken, but the work that got the person where they are right now. I must remember to see that most of the time, people worked for what they have. Everybody has flaws, even if these flaws lack representation through social media. After all, we are all human, and nothing worth having comes without struggle.
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