May your life be as awsome as you pretend it is on Instagram.

Whenever i’m traveling longer distances here, be it by bus, train or plane, i usually listen to the current podcast of Beste Freundinnen. They are 2 guys around my age, who talk about their lives week after week. About relationships, sex and all kinds of things around it. And even if both are straight and in somehow different personal circumstances, so much seems familiar to me about what they talk and about things they experience. Usually they really make my day and sometimes i have to laugh a lot wearing my headphones on.

Anyways, one of the last episodes was about how important it is to be noticed or to be seen by others. And that life is always about it actually. To be seen and valued by others just the way you are. And that inevitably brought me to the Instagram-topic, because it is the prime example of a platform, whose main goal is to attract attention.

I am not telling anything new when i say that Instagram is currently the hippest (or at least the most common used) social platform on the Internet, where people can literally present themselves (…even though i can see a certain downward trend, similar to the use of Facebook). But what people present or stage are just cutouts, tiny filtered moments of their life, that often have little to do with reality. And i often find it frightening that i am no better, looking at my own account.

But lately I’ve been wondering why am i doing this? Why am i posting stuff the way i do?

I haven’t found the right answer yet!

Is it just to be noticed, like mentioned in the beginning? It’s not that i want to make people jealous, thats what i can say for sure (…i’m not responsible for anyones feelings anyways). It is a fact that i am in this or that beautiful place at the moment. But of course, somehow i try to stage everything perfectly. So some part of me wants to create an illusion. But it is not my main concern, believe me! 🙂

I just like to take pictures, i’ve always done that. Even at a time when there was nothing like Instagram. And i would say that i have a reasonably good eye for motifs, which is actually the most important thing when taking pictures (…which many people don’t understand, lol). And therefore Instagram is the perfect platform to show a selection of my shots. Everything is of course very superficial and i don’t try to create a special depth at all. Because, as the saying goes, a picture says more than a thousand words. I have this blog for more in-depth or further thoughts.

Anyways, i’m harmless compared to the most asians (that i meet) in terms of self-expression and selfie-culture. What i observe here in part is really crazy. For example, people dress according to a location in order to get particularly high-contrast or colorful pictures. Nobody is shy to pose in front of a larger audience, as the famous insta-spots are rarely deserted. Or people simply only visit locations that are either already insta-spots or have the potential to be one. And i have to admit that this behaviour also rubs off on me.

I sometimes wonder where this whole process should lead? Whether the trend is reversing and people no longer publicly share their moments? Or rather keep them for what they are: personal experiences!? Or is it getting even worse?

It’s funny, i had an interesting discussion on this topic with Diane from the States some time ago. Strictly speaking, on the Komodo-tour in Indonesia. We spent one night on the boat and when it was later, i sat on board with her. The starry sky above us. And in front of us 3 czech guys, who were constantly dealing with their cell phones, posting, skyping and scrolling. We just didn’t understand it. How you can’t just enjoy such a once-in-a-lifetime moment? Note well, Diane is 70 years old and i am 39. So quite 2 different generations, but in that point we were thinking the same way. And Diane supposed it will get worse in the future, which frankly scared me a bit. Because in spite of everything i am hoping that i am not the only person who is aware of the fact, that the real life happens out there and that most of the social media is just a filtered Illusion of life.