I totally relate to your post because I also tailor some of my social media profiles, especially my Instagram, in a way that aims to show that I live a exciting life (even though it really isn’t that exciting). It’s interesting to note that these platforms are supposed to be outlets that are a window to someone’s life/perspective, what their interests are, who they hang out with, etc., yet we only pick and choose certain parts of our lives to publicize. For example, I don’t Instagram my set-up when I binge on Netflix instead of doing homework or other seemingly mundane things, because I feel like it’s not something my friends/followers would care about and I know it wouldn’t get a lot of likes. However, a good number of my friends/followers are also college students who probably do the same type of mundane things during their downtime.
I also think that, maybe, the specific type of social media outlet affects the content that’s being presented. No, I wouldn’t Instagram a picture of my computer when I’m watching Gilmore Girls, but I might put it on my Snapchat story with a dumb caption and not care so much about it because I know it will be off people’s feeds after 24 hours. I wouldn’t complain about stressing over all the work I need to do over a Facebook status, but I might do so in a tweet. I guess it is because I have a different type of audience depending on the social media platform, thus affecting the type of content I put out there, which (I think) is the point you and Boyd are trying to make.
]]>