August 5th
She’s young, pretty and bored.
She fake tans, applies makeup and tidies her room. She changes out of her brother’s old T-shirt she wears as pyjamas and into a new dress. She clicks away at the iPhone screen directed at the mirror, trailing various poses.
Sliding back into the daggy tee, she swipes through the 284 photos, marks her favourites and begins the editing process. A handful of filters make her teeth whiter, others make her skin darker. Once the images have endured multiple different editing apps, she’ll decide which makes the cut.
Hours have passed. When her 7:30pm ‘primetime’ alarm goes off, she jumps on Pinterest in search of an inspirational quote, but it gets too hard, so she decides on ‘Day with the girls’ as her caption.
Validation in the form of likes begin to roll in, each comment boosting her self-esteem like nothing else can.
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As a culprit of contributing to this unrealistic version of life, I am involved in both the deceptive posts and also the permitting of validation. Despite having firsthand experience in how fabricated Instagram posts can be, I still somehow fail to recognise the unnatural circumstances of other’s photos. It makes me angry that I compare my life to those on social media, and it’s easy to see how other impressionable users would also.
Reality is, the majority of society will visit that waterfall, buy that eyeshadow pallet or order that smoothie bowl because they’ve seen it glorified across Instagram by people who are paid to do it.
On many occasions, I’ve found myself forgetting to enjoy whatever I am taking a photo of.
I’m out to breakfast with my friend. The food is served, but not eaten for 10 minutes. Within that time, the sugar bowl and small flower vase have been aesthetically positioned with our açai and Buddha bowls. Standing on our stools for high angle shots has caused a few unfriendly stares, but the mouth-watering snapchat story and cute Insta Boomerang was totally worth it.
Instagram has exploded in popularity within the past few years because it’s a way of social networking that connects people via visual elements. The app provides a powerful means by which to capture and sustain our attention.
Considering cafes, bars, stores and resorts will pay thousands for an influencer to post about their joint, it’s obvious to see how destinations can be portrayed idealistically and how the not-so-glorious parts of some places don’t surface on the screens of millions of users.
Today my bike chain snapped in the middle of a busy Indonesian road, shortly followed by my credit card being eaten by an ATM. Therefore, I spent my time walking the streets, drowning in sweat and being starving hungry as I had run out of cash.
Tonight, I’ll post a shot of me yesterday lying peacefully by the pool of my villa. Being embraced by the cushioned daybed, soaking in every ounce of vitamin D and sipping on a cold Bintang.
At least my followers will think my time here has been perfect.
Words by Erin Waugh
Image by Nicola Jane
Erin Waugh 