Sometimes it’s a little bit tricky.
Previously I wrote about visiting a place that had so many one-star reviews and touched on how sometimes people have expectation of things because they saw them first on social media. But creator on social media is almost always shows the best side of things by producing an eye-catching video styles, and all sorts of appeals and hooks to grab the attention of the audience. I’m no exception. I’ve been on both sides all this time–as an audience who believes what I see on social media and as a creator who “romanticizing my life” online.
I have been working as a content creator since I graduated from college and I can’t emphasize enough of how we need to make something more interesting than it actually is, if we want to post it on social media. And even though I don’t have social media with many followers (I probably don’t even have social media at this point), I find myself also do that kind of thing. I’ve written about the art of noticing which playing a pretty big part in the concept of romanticizing life. I think the real purpose of the art of noticing is to appreciate even the smallest thing in our lives, but sometimes it becomes something like “is this worth sharing?” as if social media is the only place I live my life. If that even make sense.
For example, when I try to make a cozy video or like a quiet slow day in my life content, I notice that the process of making it is not slow or cozy at all. I want to show a slower and more relaxed side of life, but in order to document it the way I want, I have to put more effort to make the video convey the cozy and quiet atmosphere itself. Does anyone get what I’m trying to say at this point😅
it’s like no-makeup makeup if you will. Where we put in a lot more effort to get that natural look like we’re not wearing a makeup, and sometimes people forget that it’s even more difficult than if we just wanted to show makeup as makeup. I feel like I make it more complicated than it really is🤣
What I mean by “another side of romanticizing my life online” is that sometimes I curated what I want to romanticized based on whether or not it’s worth sharing on social media. The word “curated” is important, right? People curated things here on Hive as well. Although the consideration factors are different than any social media, but it was still there.
Am I lying about my life, when I curated what to share based on what I think people will appreciate it or not? Because sometimes the lines get blurry, am I romanticizing my life as it is, or I romanticizing it because the social media tells me to?
I think that in the end, self-awareness is always the key. I often feel like there’s no such thing as authentic anymore, including our state of mind. It is heavily impacted by what we choose to consume, and in this day and age, it’s mostly through social media.
What do you think? If anyone reading this, do you get what I’m trying to say? Am I making it complicated or am I get it wrong in a first place? Please let me know your thoughts about it! and thanks for reading as always :)