Elena, thank you for writing this! And for the link to Kate Manne’s piece. My camera roll never reflects my reality at any given time, but I do try to take snapshots of ephemera around our house, especially a messy art table, so that I can look back later and hopefully see happy chaos instead of the “clutter” that I might perceive in the moment. And yay for haircuts!
One thing I wanted to ask is (of everyone) is why is there a compulsion to share (post) all these photos in the first place? They are your memories. No one else’s. Amidst this is some sort of inherent competition. I learned this (or felt it) during COVID. A sense of “aren’t they lucky”. Beautiful shots of beach or country houses. But what did I have? I wasn’t posting photos of me stuck within 2 rooms on a deserted street with my family on the other side of the country. I really don’t think people want to see “real”. It’s an Instagram world and that in itself makes me sad. I stopped looking at Instagram completely. I now feel if someone wants to share a photo they will send it directly to me. Because they *know* I would want to see it.
Love, love, love your hair cut!! Also : my previous comment was just an observation and a question not a criticism. I felt bad about it after and wished I had not “posted” it, but rather just shared it as a note. But I was also hoping to see what your other readers might have to say.
Elena, thank you for writing this! And for the link to Kate Manne’s piece. My camera roll never reflects my reality at any given time, but I do try to take snapshots of ephemera around our house, especially a messy art table, so that I can look back later and hopefully see happy chaos instead of the “clutter” that I might perceive in the moment. And yay for haircuts!
I love snapshots of the ephemera! They feel so much more true to life.
One thing I wanted to ask is (of everyone) is why is there a compulsion to share (post) all these photos in the first place? They are your memories. No one else’s. Amidst this is some sort of inherent competition. I learned this (or felt it) during COVID. A sense of “aren’t they lucky”. Beautiful shots of beach or country houses. But what did I have? I wasn’t posting photos of me stuck within 2 rooms on a deserted street with my family on the other side of the country. I really don’t think people want to see “real”. It’s an Instagram world and that in itself makes me sad. I stopped looking at Instagram completely. I now feel if someone wants to share a photo they will send it directly to me. Because they *know* I would want to see it.
Thanks for sharing this! The COVID lockdown Instagram world was certainly mindfuckery...
Love, love, love your hair cut!! Also : my previous comment was just an observation and a question not a criticism. I felt bad about it after and wished I had not “posted” it, but rather just shared it as a note. But I was also hoping to see what your other readers might have to say.
Not at all! I loved hearing what you had to say.
Omg that Cut piece made my mouth hurt 🥲
right???
❤️❤️❤️🙏