Sometime in the middle of this year, I caught up with an acquaintance that I hadn't seen in a long time. Being at similar life stages (with school coming to an end for both of us), talking came really easily. As we talked, we were amazed at how many squeals of "me too!" escaped our mouths.
I remember her saying, “But Fope, you look like you have things figured out on Instagram". And I looked at her with one raised eyebrow thinking, "How did you come up with that? It's not like any of my captions do more than explain the picture."
In retrospect, I should have understood what she meant.
As someone who has gone days without speaking to any human, not by deliberate choice but by happenstance, and one who also has had to consciously close Instagram because her thumb hurt from scrolling too much, I should have gotten it. I should have understood that she managed to make up a whole picture of my life from my posts.
As someone who has gone days without speaking to any human, not by deliberate choice but by happenstance, and one who also has had to consciously close Instagram because her thumb hurt from scrolling too much, I should have gotten it. I should have understood that she managed to make up a whole picture of my life from my posts.
Deep down, I'm sure we know that social media is not the full picture. But many times we forget. Many times, I still forget and I compare my lows with everyone else’s high.
The thing is, highlights are fun. They make for short and sweet captions. They are easily explained in emojis. Sometimes, the pictures of red-bottoms and ourselves in graduation gowns can even get by without captions and still rake in the likes and fancy comments. But in the interest of balance let's burn some of that.
This isn't really a call to humans to post more of regular life on Instagram... I think that's what Snapchat was invented for. But highlighting regular moments too would be one way create some balance. But, I want to say
- This is a call to us to appreciate more of the little bits of regular life. It's our preoccupation with the exceptional moments that cause us to only highlight those. So we don’t see just having breakfast as a thing, except it’s at Cora’s or somewhere fancy.
- It’s also a call to resurrect real talk. Call and text someone just because. There's a reason we weren't made to do life solo. It's not like you're calling to have a pity party or anything, but talking is therapeutic. You'll share some of your highs, some of your lows. You’ll get fresh views on each other’s issues, and your burden will just feel lighter. Friendships are awesome, enjoy them.
- I think ultimately, it’s a call to a little vulnerability and transparency. A little vulnerability not just on social media, but in our interactions with each other. Someone asks how your day is going and you're thinking of responding with: "Not too great actually. 2015 is ending and I've still not seized the bae." Go for it! You don't have to say "fine".
Going into the #goals thing would be another topic. But seriously let's burn that too.
I challenge you to find an opportunity to savour a regular moment this weekend and maybe even share under the hashtag #BurnTheHighlightReel.
I challenge you to find an opportunity to savour a regular moment this weekend and maybe even share under the hashtag #BurnTheHighlightReel.
Shout out to Heather Lindsey for inspiring this post via her Instagram posts under #BurnTheHighlightReel.