Last week in class we were discussing the article “Can We Stop Shaming Each Other For Being Fake Online and Admit that Social Media Is Performative?”
An exceptionally bright student spoke up about her experiences when she was studying abroad in Thailand last year. She posted gorgeous, fabulous photos of her semester. But, she said, that wasn’t the whole story.
“I felt pressure to act like the semester was going perfect so I posted great photos. I never shared what was happening in between those photos. I was miserable.”
And a hashtag was born.
My classes and I are going to start sharing what happens #inbetween the great stuff we post, and we’d like you to do the same. Let’s keep it real. All of this performing is making us exhausted , anxious and feel like we don’t measure up. Let’s talk about what happens #inbetween.
@Julie
I love the #inbetween hashtag and have come to the same conclusion, that what mostly is shared on social media is only “half the story”. I have started using the hashtag #keepingitreal as I document my learning journey as a runner…. Take a look at this instagram post https://www.instagram.com/p/B4hmkTQnqhy/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link as well as part of the following blog post.
“Sharing my photos and reflection on Instagram, reminded me of the responsibility we have when we share of keeping “it” real. I started receiving more comments on my uploads (public), but also private messages of how my sharing was inspiring others to start getting active and my photos and reflections were becoming a motivation FOR others. As I was strolling through my feed of other runners, I also experienced a certain “demotivation” when I saw the perfectly toned, skinny, tight abdominal, muscular runners who shared their incredibly fast times, pace and tempo on photos of their running watches. What was I portraying with my feed to others? What was my responsibility to keeping it real so others would not get discouraged by my sharing. Of course, I was selecting photos from the ones that I captured that portrayed me in the best light with my best foot forward and not showing my stretchmarks (instead of a six pack) on my belly. Of course, the photos were with my leg muscles showing instead of my cellulitis made the cut to be uploaded. ” http://langwitches.org/blog/2019/09/10/documenting-and-learning-from-a-half-marathon-training/
What is our responsibility as we share online to keeping it real?