Pathetic but Aesthetic
For my walk I took everyone to two different cafes and restaurants in Soho. After this class, I realized how important it was for everyone including me to isolate themselves from the world of social media for a while. As social media continues to play a crucial role in our lives, it enables identity expression, exploration, and experimentation. Maintaining a social media account can be entertaining yet stressful for some. Comments and likes to quantify influential power and help in gaining affirmation. Almost everyone tries to put the best version of themselves on social media platforms and differences between our “real” and online identities can shape not only what others think of us but also our self-perceptions, creating an avatar. While creating the walk, when I visited the two locations, Nomo Soho and Pietro Nolita, I observed customers walking in to just pose for pictures. They will probably not inform their followers that they actually didn’t order anything. Our social media selves do not show all the aspects of our personality, usually focusing on the universal approved traits and characteristics, hiding the flaws. Online avatars can be the ideal way a person would want to represent themselves which often affects other online followers and their mental health.
As a makeup artist, I will be more cautious while posting on Instagram. Im aware of how my posts and actions may have consequences and negative effects on my followers since it may create flawed perfection/aesthetic.
