“Pictures or it didn’t happen.”
It’s the sort of thing you text a friend when they claim some dubious achievement, like meeting Bill Murray in the wild, or sneaking into an oligarch’s skybox at a Seahawks game. But if you waste enough time on social media, you realize this phrase has taken on life mantra status for some people. Every latte, every walk, every drink with friends merits some social media documentation, some reminder to everyone that they’re living their best life.
With enough practice, a chosen few have become extremely good at this, projecting lives that seem like epic, perfectly curated adventures. Their photos are framed beautifully, their Instagram filter choice unimpeachable. They even apply a second layer of filters sometimes, via apps like VSCO Cam. We're talking double filter action. Their captions are vaguely meaningful and positive, for maximum likeability.
But among this breed, the mantra can seem a bit different: a version of “Pictures or it wouldn’t have happened.” Their social media presence can come across as a series of manufactured moments, an ongoing photo shoot for some earthy lifestyle magazine that doesn’t exist. Carefully engineered to look casual and free, they are often maddeningly similar, and sort of ridiculous when you think about them. It’s asking a person to stand in a mountain lake, for example, wearing a big hat and a stylish blanket…
Making ripples happen. A photo posted by Rob Strok (@robstrok) on Jul 10, 2015 at 9:39pm PDT
Or displaying an aesthetically pleasing form of OCD when packing for a trip…
Or making fresh coffee at the top of a goddamn mountain.
I just "happened" to bring all my coffee gear on this hike. Might as well make a cup on this mountain top like any normal person would do. #vsco #vscocam #socality #liveauthentic #livefolk #kinfolk #visualcoop #getoutside #letsgosomewhere #neverstopexploring #exploreeverthing #explore #adventure #lifeofadventure #pnw #pacificnorthwest #thatpnwlife #northwestisbest #thegreatpnw #greatnorthcollective #socalityportland #pdx #oregon #upperleftusa #peoplescreatives #wildernessculture #instagoodmyphoto #herpnwlife A photo posted by Socality Barbie (@socalitybarbie) on Aug 26, 2015 at 12:41pm PDT
"I get it, it's pretty to look at. But it’s so dishonest. Nobody actually lives like this. And it’s so overdone that it’s becoming boring.”
That’s a quote from the anonymous creator of Socality Barbie, the Instagram parody that highbrow millennials needed, not the one they deserved. And it has its sights on the Pacific Northwest in particular, which is especially fertile ground for these sorts of accounts (blame Portland).
Everything about the parody is hilariously dead-on. There’s the plethora of popular Instagram hashtags attached to every photo – #liveauthentic #finditliveit #lifeofadventure #vsco – to ensure moments aren’t just experienced, but properly marketed. There are the shoutouts to the Pacific Northwest lifestyle – #pnw #pacificnorthwest#thatpnwlife #northwestisbest – encapsulated through coffee, Pendleton blankets, artisan ice cream, and foggy expanses of nature.
Cuz holding your ice cream up to a wall turns it into art. ?? #saltandstraw #vsco #vscocam #socality #liveauthentic #livefolk #kinfolk #visualcoop #getoutside #letsgosomewhere #neverstopexploring #exploremore #explore #adventure #lifeofadventure #pnw #pacificnorthwest #thatpnwlife #northwestisbest #thegreatpnw #greatnorthcollective #socalityportland #pdx #communityfirst #oregon #upperleftusa #peoplescreatives #wildernessculture #instagoodmyphoto #herpnwlife A photo posted by Socality Barbie (@socalitybarbie) on Aug 21, 2015 at 10:18am PDT
The account is the brainchild of a Portland-based photographer who specializes in weddings, and is therefore no stranger to carefully staged life moments. In an interview with Wired, she expressed exhaustion with people trying to seem “authentic” in the exact same way. “People were all taking the same pictures in the same places and using the same captions. I couldn’t tell any of their pictures apart so I thought, ‘What better way to make my point than with a mass-produced doll?'”
Her captions – which often echo thousands of nearly-identical social media posts before them – further underline the point.
Having coffee with this gem ? . Can I just say how amazing this girl is?! She keeps me grounded and inspires me to live my best authentic life. So glad we are in community together. I just wish she didn't live all the way in LA. #friendbrag #postthepeople #gem #thisismycommunity #vsco #liveauthentic #socality #livefolk #pnw #portland #oregon #explore #lifeofadventure #thegreatpnw #kinfolk A photo posted by Socality Barbie (@socalitybarbie) on Sep 5, 2015 at 9:13am PDT
There is a touch of genius to the account. Like the best satire, it hints at a deeper truth without coming right out and saying it. And that truth, in part, is that social media is a subtly dishonest place. Last year, there was a brief period in which so-called “anonymous” social media apps like Secret and Whisper gained steam. They allowed people to comment on their lives without a name attached, and were modern embodiments of Oscar Wilde’s old adage: “Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” People bitched about their marriages, their jobs, and the lives they were leading, their dreams deferred. The apps fizzled in popularity pretty quickly, but there was something to the trend, a hint at a potential course correction for Facebook and Instagram (we're leaving Twitter, Reddit, and their separate issues out of this). Real life – beyond the celebration of a marriage or child – will never receive as many “likes” as a good pose, will never be prioritized by social media algorithms. This is why the more time you spend on social media, the more unhappy you become, according to research. How can you judge your own grubby existence against the carefully calibrated public personas of others, particularly those who seem like they’re living a non-stop adventure?
What's one exciting thing you did this weekend? Or are going to do :) A photo posted by Rob Strok (@robstrok) on Sep 5, 2015 at 10:02pm PDT
Be the kind of leader that you would follow. #vsco #vscocam #socality #liveauthentic #livefolk #kinfolk #visualcoop #finditliveit #getoutside #letsgosomewhere #neverstopexploring #exploreeverthing #exploremore #explore #adventure #lifeofadventure #pnw #pacificnorthwest #thatpnwlife #northwestisbest #thegeatpnw #greatnorthcollective #socalityportland #pdx #communityfirst #oregon #upperleftusa #peoplescreatives #wildernessculture #instagood A photo posted by Socality Barbie (@socalitybarbie) on Jul 9, 2015 at 10:28am PDT
The Socality Barbie account has attracted nearly a million followers in eight weeks, evidence it is clearly striking a nerve. In its own small way, the doll may be promoting a vision of social media that is a bit less plastic.
