Social Media: The Experiment

In December, I embarked on a personal experiment. I wanted to experience life beyond the curated, filtered snapshots we consume on social media. I wanted to meet people, have real conversations, and rediscover what it means to connect. So, I put myself out there—bars, book clubs, yoga sessions, even clubs. And while I met many friendly people, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing. Where were the deeper conversations, the shared political perspectives, the humor, and the willingness to challenge boundaries?

It made me think critically about social media. About how it has shaped not only how we present ourselves to the world but how we experience reality. It’s become a caricature of life itself—a two-dimensional representation of something much messier, richer, and more nuanced.

The Caricature of Reality

Social media, in many ways, functions like what comedian Hannah Gadsby describes as a joke: a set-up and a resolution. It’s never a full story. It’s a glimpse, not a gaze. A presentation, not an exploration. We post a smiling photo of ourselves at brunch, but not the argument we had the night before. We share a polished career milestone but not the sleepless nights or the failures along the way.

This is no accident. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are built to encourage this kind of storytelling. They reward the clean, digestible narrative—the post that gets likes, shares, and engagement. But this curated reality isn’t just something we consume. Over time, it starts to shape how we see ourselves and how we live our lives.

The recent news of Mark Zuckerberg laying off Facebook’s fact-checkers only deepens this problem. Without oversight, the "realities" presented on these platforms become even more distorted, untethered from truth or accountability. Social media, once a tool for connection and expression, now risks becoming a self-referential loop: a space where we create simplified versions of ourselves and then live according to those representations.

From Representation to Reality

As scholars like Jean Baudrillard have argued, in the postmodern world, media doesn’t just reflect reality—it constructs it. What we share online isn’t just a representation of our lives; it becomes the version of our lives we feel compelled to live up to. Baudrillard called this the "hyperreal"—a world where representations replace reality itself, and the line between the two becomes indistinguishable.

Instagram and the Aspirational Trap

Prof. Mehita Iqani ’s research on Instagram among South African youth offers an illuminating perspective on this. She argues that Instagram has become a space where young people actively construct "aspirational" identities, often tied to materialism and consumer culture. These representations are not just personal—they are deeply shaped by systemic inequalities and global capitalist ideals.

In her work, Iqani explores how South African youth often use Instagram to project lifestyles of wealth, beauty, and success, even when these are inaccessible in their everyday lives. This aspirational culture, while empowering for some, reinforces existing social divides and creates a pressure to conform to unattainable ideals. It’s a vivid example of Baudrillard’s hyperreal: a world where the image of success becomes more important than the reality of it.

Where Are the People?

During my December experiment, I couldn’t help but wonder: where are the people? Not the friendly acquaintances I met, but the people who are willing to dig deeper? The ones who challenge their own beliefs, who push boundaries, who reject the one-dimensional realities of religion, work, or material aspiration?

Social media promised to connect us, but in many ways, it has isolated us. It has made it easier to find like-minded people, but harder to find genuine connection. It has given us tools to share our lives, but not to live them fully.

Pragmatic Solutions

So, how do we address the problem of the hyperreal? How do we resist the pull of curated, aspirational realities and live more authentically?

Here are some pragmatic solutions:

1. Media Literacy Education: Equip individuals with the tools to critically evaluate digital media. Understanding how images, narratives, and algorithms shape our perceptions can empower us to engage with social media more mindfully.
2. Digital Detox Practices: Take intentional breaks from social media to reconnect with the unfiltered, offline world. This could mean setting boundaries around screen time or dedicating certain days to being "device-free."
3. Cultivate Deeper Communities: Seek out spaces for genuine connection. This could mean joining groups that value dialogue over performance—whether that’s through volunteering, discussion forums, or creative workshops.
4. Challenge the Aspirational Narrative: Instead of projecting a polished version of yourself online, experiment with sharing the messiness of real life. Normalize vulnerability and imperfection in your social media presence.
5. Support Alternative Platforms: Advocate for and participate in platforms that prioritize authenticity, privacy, and meaningful engagement over ad-driven algorithms and superficial metrics.
6. Redistribute the Social Media Gaze: As Iqani suggests, we must challenge the global systems that prioritize Western, capitalist ideals of beauty and success. This involves amplifying diverse, local voices and creating space for alternative narratives.

A Call to Think Critically

As we navigate this hyperreal world, we need to think more critically about how social media shapes our lives. The Zuckerbergs of the world may build the platforms, but we are the ones who populate them. We are the ones who decide whether to live authentically or to live according to the caricatures we create.

Maybe the answer is to step back. To spend less time curating and more time living. To seek out the messy, unfiltered experiences that don’t fit neatly into a post. To prioritize connection over projection.

Because if we don’t, we risk losing something essential. We risk becoming what social media has always been: a set-up and a resolution, but never the full story.

Further Reading

1. Jean Baudrillard: Simulacra and Simulation – A foundational text on the concept of hyperreality and how media representations replace reality.
2. Mehita Iqani: Consumption, Media, and the Global South – Explores the intersection of media, consumer culture, and inequality, with a focus on South Africa.
3. Sherry Turkle: Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age – Discusses how technology has eroded face-to-face communication and how we can reclaim it.
4. Nathan Jurgenson: The Social Photo: On Photography and Social Media – Examines how photography on social media shapes our perceptions of reality.
5. Zeynep Tufekci: Twitter and Tear Gas – Explores the dual role of social media in empowering activism and reinforcing systemic inequalities.