Social Media and Exhibitionism

        After temporarily losing my cell phone and not having it for a weekend, I was even more aware of Bordieu's concept of voyeurism and exhibitionism than I usually am. I confess that I am addicted to scrolling through Instagram and watching my friends' Snapchat stories; these platforms to peer in on people, and to be peered in on, are a large part of our culture today, especially for people who are my age. The absence of being able to view what people were doing during this weekend left me oddly at a loss. I think that it is pretty damaging when one feels like they are missing out just because they can't check social media. I think it's interesting how people on social media distort their life to show only the best parts; this exhibitionism shows a "virtual reality," rather than the "actual reality" of events that occur outside of the sphere of social media. I admit that I am incredibly guilty of this, as I pick and choose the most photogenic pictures of myself for my Instagram profile and the funniest videos for my Snapchat story in order to make my life seem interesting and exciting. We are a generation of narcissists, and we hope to instill in one another a sense of envy through selective self-presentation. While social media can help people to connect with other people who are on opposite sides of town, the country, or even the world, it can be abused.
        The pressure to impress people on social media through exhibitionism is further intensified by the "followers" and "like" features on Instagram, and the "viewed by" feature on Snapchat stories. We are validated by a high number of followers and likes, and try to have interesting stories on Snapchat in order to gain the most views. Personally, if I don't get 100 likes or more on a photo, I feel invalidated in posting the photo. I have heard many times throughout conversations with people in my generation (and participated in conversations like this, too) about feeling invalidated and inadequate because one didn't get as many likes on a photo as they had wanted to. We scroll down our Instagram feeds and "like" photos according to the quality of the photo, as well as how well they know the person who they are following. We are amateur critics, validating only what we deem as worthy. This concept of exhibitionism and voyeurism through social media applies accurately to our generation, as we often depend upon social media in order to validate ourselves and improve our self-esteem.