Am I The Real Me On Instagram?

   

     Have you ever been scrolling through Instagram, liked a post, and wondered how "real" it is? Like, those posts of the little kids playrooms, those beach photos, or the classic studying post. There is something that each of these posts have in common.  

    Perfection. That is the given image of most individual's lives on Instagram (or really any other social media platform). Curated themes, heavily staged photos, and a surprising amount of production can be seen on posts coming through your feed each and every day. The perfect meal, the perfect date, the perfect everything. 

    While a appreciate immaculate lighting and a well put together Instagram profile, I do not see the point in my putting forth a perfect image from my full-of-imperfections life. Just to be clear, this post is not about me bashing influencers. But sometimes, seeing unachievable standards for everyday life (especially in lifestyle accounts) is heavily discouraging. "Why can't I keep my bookshelves looking like that?", "I wish I could have my room look that nice," and so many similar things can run through our heads while we scroll through Instagram. 

    As someone who talks a ton about embracing the little pieces of imperfection in life, placing a filter over a photo of myself that hides the little imperfections on my face seems wrong. As does editing out some blemish or mark on my face. I would be hiding the real me. Putting forward the image that I had edited to show only what I would want my followers to see. Before I ever signed up for Instagram, I wanted be sure that I would put the whole and real me out there. For the most part, I have kept it that way. However, I will admit that my personal (not SBF) Instagram profile is much more transparent and chaotic (as my life is). I want to never publish some false narrative of who I actually am. Not the idyllic version of myself. The me that exists in this reality.

    People who follow my own (private) personal profile know that my account is full of all sorts of crazy things. Birthday wishes to my brothers in teasing manners, tiny plastic sharks hanging from the ceiling vent, and oh so much more are littered among the posts. My stories are always genuinely me and filled with more chaos than my feed posts. 

    Now, I can not tell you how to live your virtual life. But I can encourage you to be real. Post things you want to. Post the crazy, the mess, and the imperfect. We are human, and we are real. Let's attempt to show that. 

     For the most part? The only filters that enhance the lighting and colors. My captions are rarely (ok, never) perfect. My stories are things that I am seeing and only planned when I have a graphic I have made. So to answer the question, am I the real me on Instagram, yes. I am the real me on Instagram. 

-fin

    This was definitely a  post I had been wanting to write for a while. I'm not really sure why I put it off for so long, but I am so glad that I got it done. What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments!

     Thank you SO much for reading. It means so much to me that you do! Keep an eye out for a post on this site eight days from now (a super easy way to be notified is to follow or subscribe 😉), or for a post four days from now on She Be Fierce 2! If you want to see what I'm up to, you can follow me on  Instagram. I am trying to post more consistently on my Instagram, and am actually ok with posting to my stories. So go check it out!

Until next time,

KS

-what do you think about filters?