Somewhere between filters and monthly photo dumps, posting stopped being casual. What used to be a simple tap of a button now comes with hesitation, editing, and pressure. We curate every post: what pictures, what order, the music, the caption.
There was a time when we’d post anything and everything without thinking twice. We’ve moved from sharing our days to performing for the masses (no matter how many people are watching).
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Rewriting captions, picking the right emoji, and choosing tags, hoping your post looks effortless. We focus on timing, lighting, and angles, instead of living in the moment.
You know how when you go out with friends dressed up all cute, but don’t get any good photos and immediately deem the day a “waste”? I absolutely despise that feeling. We used to go out to enjoy and relax, and I love taking pictures with my friends… but it’s come to the point where we plan the post before the moment even happens.
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Validation
BAM! The second you post, you’re staring so hard at the like count that you’re burning holes into the phone screen. We delete posts if they don’t have a high number of likes and archive stories just because we’ve looked at them for too long.
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We seek a disgusting amount of validation from people we barely know. The number of likes, views, and comments don’t determine your worth. This leads to comparison, and comparison is the killer of joy.
Fear of Judgement
The world consists of people with multiple different interests, and you can’t fulfill them all. The pressure to satisfy everyone just makes you change your personality. The right audience will like what you post without you having to change aspects of yourself.
So many people… friends, family, strangers. But we forget that we never posted for approval and likes, we posted for ourselves. To share a part of you that others could relate to, instead of dimming your light for people who like the dark.
The Irony
Social media was created to connect and express, now it creates anxiety and self-consciousness.
Especially when it comes to public figures, we see how drastically trends and expectations have changed. I remember pictures from 2016 when artists and celebrities would post whatever they wanted, but all they post now is curated content that makes you think you need to look perfect 24/7 too. It used to be blurry pics, random selfies, and bad lighting, but now we see brand deals, polished feeds, and an illusion of a perfect life.
The more connected we are, the more aware we are of how we’re perceived.
Private Vs Public
Ever heard of spam accounts? Almost every teen has one. It’s an account where they feel comfortable enough to post unfiltered. People crave to have a space where they can truly be themselves, and when judgement and critique come in, all we can do is retreat to spaces not everyone has access to.
Personally speaking, I have a private account too, where I post incessantly. It consists only of my closest most trusted friends. Lately though, I’ve started posting more on my “main” account (the one I give to acquaintances); unfiltered, and without a second thought. It's so much more freeing to act the way I want in public instead of minimising my thoughts, opinions, and actions, just because I'm afraid of judgement from people who don't even matter to me.
I've had my spam account for around 4 years now, and this is the number of posts on it:
Image Credit: Dhritti Jain
The number on my main account is significantly lower. Just this shows me how much I filter parts of me that I show to the world and how comfortable I really am with myself.
Stop and Reflect
Casual posting isn’t gone, we just don’t allow ourselves to do it anymore. It’s so strange how something meant to capture memories now makes us question them.
When was the last time you posted without thinking twice?
