Photographs, once aimed at capturing the world around us as it appears to the eye, have now assumed a new expectation: to be picture-esque. Ever since photography transitioned into a mainstream and readily accessible medium, its primary function has been to document the essence of our world in a tangible way, allowing us to look back on for our own sake or for the sake of sharing our experiences with others. But is it even possible to capture the whole essence of our experience through a single frame, and can this inability potentially lead to a false reality? The exploitation of photography in the realm of social media further complicates this question as photographs begin to take on a much different role. They became tools of curation motivated by likes and follows. They paint an altered reality that romanticizes the “aesthetic”, favorable moments—which it puts into the spotlight—all while concealing the less appealing, unattractive aspects. But when did a picture become synonymous with perfection, as suggested by the word “picturesque,” and is social media completely to blame?
In the first of her essays in On Photography, Susan Sontang reveals this nuanced complexity embedded within the simple act of capturing a photo. On one hand, she argues, we wish to hold on to the present moment, but on the other, we are “refusing it—by limiting experience to a search for the photogenic, by converting experience into an image” (Sontang 6). This dual desire leads us to miss out on capturing the genuine experience as we are too engrossed in the quest to photograph it flawlessly, and this has only been exacerbated by social media. We assume specific poses, coax smiles to convey inauthentic feelings, and manipulate camera angles to present ourselves or our surroundings in a more favorable light, forgoing the organic experience itself. By seeking this portrayal of perfection, social media and photography “alter our notions of what is worth looking at” (Sontang 1), as appearance trumps everything else.
Harnessed by this need for perfection, photography has become not only “the device that makes real what one is experiencing” (Sontang 6), as Sontang and the commonly used remark “But If You Didn’t Post About It, Did It Really Happen?” point out, but also a device that makes real out of what is not. The “Instagram vs. Reality” trend, in which users show an idealized post alongside a not-so-perfect shot of the same subject, brings awareness to the incomplete reality crafted by selective posting. For instance, stunning images of New York City’s skyscrapers often exclude the less glamorous, littered streets that plague the city. While influencers that always appear flawless in their posts share moments in which they didn’t feel as confident and faced self-doubt. Through the photos that we choose to post and exclude, we craft a portrayal of reality that isn’t complete and is sometimes even fictional. This forces viewers into a false sense “that time consists of interesting events, events worth photographing” (Sontang 8), as they see influencers living glamorous, exciting lives through their instagram feeds, when in reality there are more mundane, imperfect moments behind the camera that fail to be documented and seen online. However, this trend also started a separate movement to foster genuine and unfiltered content, bringing back the beauty and essence of photography. In doing so, social media is taking a huge step in a positive direction, where reality once again shapes photos.
Vera, I really like how you connected the readings to social media, since they mainly talk about photography throughout history. It’s very important to highlight how media gives everyone the power to be a photographer, which is very misused.
I really appreciate your discussion of expectation vs. reality in social media. It kind of plays on the idea that photos are able to induce feelings of both pseudo-presence as well as absence, especially when edited and staged so heavily. This causes viewers to be fed inaccurate representations of reality and influencing both their perception and future life experiences.
I also wrote about the difference between reality and what we see on social media. I feel like many people try to “romanticize their life” or show their life in a misleading way, that in the end misleads all of their followers and viewers. When navigating social media it’s really hard to decipher what’s real and what isn’t, and even if we only see a post or picture for a second, it’s impact can have a lasting effect.
Nowadays, it feels as if people are addicted to social media and are creating unrealistic aesthetics and standards. I really like how you talked about photographers choosing to take pictures of the positive aspects of things and hiding the negative aspects of our reality. The potential falseness of the photographs we see on social media makes social media feel less authentic.