A FILTERED WORLD

Remember these famous lyrics by Madonna? “We are living in a material world and I am a material girl.” If the song were rewritten today it might go something like this, “We are living in a filtered world and I am a lonely girl.”?

We have two versions of ourselves; the real human one and the filtered version. What’s your favorite filter? Mine is Paris because it just barely makes it look like you altered your photo, and unlike expensive creams that promise to “remove fine lines and wrinkles”, Paris actually does. But here’s the thing… Why are we doing this??

In the days when I grew up, our beauty icons were the models we saw on the cover of magazines like Cosmo, W and Vogue; my faves were Kate Moss, Paulina Porizkova, Naomi Campbell and of course Cindy Crawford, (who I got to meet one time)! I went to take a photo with her and she turned to me and said, “Darling don’t hold your wine up like that, put it down before taking the photo.” To which I replied, “Yes, mother. Sheesh.” What can I say? She’s one classy broad!?

Today's generation has so many more role models of all shapes, sizes and colors to look up to. Now, we see commercials empowering women in so many different ways. It’s almost become impossible to see an advertisement that doesn’t seem to be trying to accommodate “every woman”. Yet, we still want to filter our photos to look skinnier, prettier, younger, sexier. So, why isn’t it working??

It seems that the supermodels of the 90’s have been replaced with the filtered Instagram socialites of today. Now, anyone can be a model; use the right filters, wear the right clothes, pose this way and walk that way, in front of the right places and start racking up the likes and followers. How’s your ego so far? Didn’t get enough likes today? We’ve replaced our real life friends with likes and shares, our cravings for food and travel with check-ins and tags, and yet we are still starving. It’s like we have anorexia of the soul.?

Why do we have such a need for self-validation? Why aren’t we happy with what we have and who we are? We have more anxiety, more depression than ever before. Maybe it was never the skinny airbrushed models all along that were the problem.? Before, you could read a magazine and be done with it. You didn’t get a notification to turn to page 17 again and again, and again… and again. Our phones are constantly dinging at us, even in quiet mode we can’t resist checking in.

Maybe what we need more than inclusivity is belief in oneself. Less time on social media and more time in social settings. The more we live in our phones instead of the real world, the more we compare ourselves to others and the less physical time we actually spend around people. You know people, real people that everyone seems to call humans, now? “You’re my favorite human!”?

I believe that real human interaction is what feeds our soul. Is it possible that the more followers and affirmation we seek online, in the fake world, the more lonely we become in the real, human world??

And to quote another awesome 90’s singer, Alanis Morrissette, “It’s like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife. And isn't it ironic? Don’t you think?..” In this case, the spoons are the followers and likes, and the knife is one great relationship. Maybe all we need is one good friend instead of 10,000 fake ones.?