Insta famous vs Real life
So the other day I was talking to a friend in racing about the way certain people, especially in the garage, obsess over their social image. They want easy fame because they work in NASCAR. It made me think how some people get so wrapped up in what people see online that they lose who they really are as a person. Instagram/ Twitter/ tiktok/ Snapchat or whatever other social channels out there have become people’s identities. When was the last time you sat down for a couple hours and ignored your phone or didn’t go on a social media platform? When Facebook shut down the other week for a few hours people lost their minds.
Don’t get me wrong, social media can be an amazing thing when used for the right purposes. When social media is used to become an influencer, someone who is identified by follower counts or how many likes they can get, it is not a healthy way to live your life. Everyone is different for a reason and it's those traits that make us who we are, they’re a part of us. When you lose that because you're more concerned about how many followers you have or what’s trending on tiktok, you become a shell of the person you once were.
Not to get all heavy with my first blog back but I feel like this is something everyone should take a step back and think about. How much time a day or week are you spending aimlessly scrolling social media channels? When you are out with friends or traveling, is your first instinct “this would be great content for insta” or “wow this is an amazing experience I need to photograph it to remember this time in my life?”
Personally I am awful about taking pictures of things I get to do or experience because I’m so caught up in enjoying the moment that social media is the last thing on my mind. When I’m at work I could care less about making a snap or tiktok. Yes, I want people to see the behind the scenes of NASCAR and Torq’d that not everyone gets a chance to see, but work is my priority.
The obsession with socials has also created so many body image issues for countless people or being censored for fear of the way people will treat you or comment to you. The amount of keyboard warriors and trolls out there that will comment or dm some of the nastiest things without caring what that does to the person because they aren’t saying it to their face is insane. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked at photos I’ve taken or when planning our shoots and thought will this be OK to post or will we get hatred or sexualized for being ourselves.
OK so long story short, social media vs reality has turned into such a thing in the past few years, especially with covid causing people to stay home more, I feel like it needs to be talked about. Everyone should take a step back regardless of career or path in life and think about what you are portraying on social media. Is it you or is it a filtered, doctored version of yourself so you can get more likes? Are you sharing photos for attention or so others can see what you see and appreciate life more? Is your goal insta fame or just living life to its fullest?
Instagramers in the WIld