#Blessed, #Love, #Liveauthentic have become the hashtag pillars of most popular Instragram accounts. Beautiful people posing on the foggy Pacific shore, sipping coffee on mountain tops and sporting Warby Parker glasses and Filson bags rake in likes like a viral cat video.
While there’s nothing wrong with a staged snapshot of your uh-mazing life for the purpose of art and image, it does start to feel disingenuous when labeling everything ‘authentic’. Authenticity has become a buzzword advertising the importance of sincerity. And, yes: it is indeed a delicate trait to cherish and nurture. But tagging #liveauthentic on our choreographed depictions of life takes away from both the fun of pretending and the spontaneity of being truly authentic.
Darby Cisneros, a photographer from Oregon created the perfect (if short-lived) parody of this “#liveauthentic” trend that attracted over 1.3m followers on Instragram. Socality Barbie! Her effortless bedhead and casually cool blanket wearing amidst moody landscapes propelled the account to insta fame (even though not everyone recognized the satire). The same week Instagram model Essena O’Neill also retired from her successful online career by speaking out about the pains it took to create images of #authenticity and #perfection. For all it’s worth, the departure of these two InstaQueens raised awareness and are good reminders that your reality doesn’t suck just because it doesn’t resemble an Instragam fabrication of the good life. Your true #authentic life is just fine!
- Kirstin