Twinkly lights flood the space with an aura of serenity and peace. White drapes hang lavishly from windows and over bed frames, while pastel purple, cream and pink comforters cover mattresses of all sizes. Candid photos are pasted on the walls in a variety of twists and loops.
Be prepared, for the return of the Instagram bedroom has arrived. The trend will come and go as fall becomes winter, and every college student sleeps snug in a bed. We would like to think that our bedrooms give some small insight into our character. Yet, the pastels, drapes, fluffy comforters, lights and candles now confuse me. I cannot tell one room from another as I scroll through my feed. As we all share pins from Pinterest, Tumblr ideas, Buzzfeed videos and Twitter retweets, we begin to follow trends and rely on the ideas and experiences of other people.
Instagram is its own planet. It is home to a variety of people, places and things. Images like Taylor Swift’s hair dramatically blown back by oversized fans flood newsfeeds. Pictures of Barack Obama candidly smiling at hundreds of reporters and loyal Duck fans holding up the “O” for the 1000th time, reveal a broad spectrum of individuals. Profiles like the Travel Show and the San Diego Zoo give us places to visit from our own living rooms. We can connect through single words with a hashtag.
Instagram has seasons that we view as trends. Once one person posts an image of them laughing on the beach with all his or her best friends, everyone else has to follow suit. Let’s not forget the “oops I threw snow/leaves/glitter in the air and I have to laugh” picture or the all-too-familiar “let’s pretend they caught us smiling directly at each other” photo.
This social media forum can make anyone nervous. Some will feel inadequate because their newsfeed shows people who are climbing the Himalayas or cliff jumping in Hawaii. Couples celebrating six months, one, two, three years and even two weeks (seriously?) pop up as we thumb through our phones. There are countless images of people traveling, making food, kissing, sky diving, walking, crafting and what appears to be living.
The single factor that reveals Instagram as a false reality and as a platform that plays on the natural self-consciousness of humankind is that almost every single profile consists entirely of smiling people. It’s impossible to be that happy all the time.
Since my first Instagram post, I’ve cried. Close friends of mine separated and deleted every picture they had together. A child had a tantrum in Safeway because her mom wouldn’t let her have a box of chocolate chip cookies. A friend’s wallet and ID were stolen while she studied abroad.
But all you see on my Instagram is how happy I looked when I turned 22. The ex-couple started posting more pictures of them smiling with other people. A mom just posted a picture of her little girl with a bow in her hair because the child finally smiled after a 2-hour fit. That friend posted a picture of herself pinching the tower of Pisa.
What we see and what is actually there are two different categories on Instagram. The key to a successful relationship with Instagram is to keep it in perspective. Remember it is nothing more than an app on a phone that can be deleted forever. Maybe Instagram is helping us realize how similar we really are, but on the other hand, maybe we’re just trying to one-up the last post.
I will continue to post photos on Instagram, as will millions of others, but I advise you to be kind to yourselves and your peers. Remember that while you may obsess over another’s life, they may be doing the same to you.
And let’s not fool ourselves about the bedrooms. In reality, that space is now covered in laundry, schoolwork and shoes.
Foster: Instagram bedroom vs. real life
Jessica Foster
October 27, 2015
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