The hyperreal in modern society: social media

As I mentioned in class, I thought about social media as an example of the hyperreal in our society. Social media (in particular Facebook and Instagram) blurs the line between what is blurred and what is fabricated. Through the use of photo editing applications, image filters, staged situations in pictures – among other things – the way we represent ourselves on social media is very contrived and may not always be representative of reality. We construct images and versions of ourself on these online portals so as to portray ourselves in flattering (and sometimes deceiving) ways. Many use social media to judge others before they know them, or to get a sense of how they are as a person (their appearance, their friends and social connections, their interests, and other personal information such as their occupation and academic background) and thus allow the forged reality of social media to impact the way they perceive these people in real life. In this way, our social media identities precede our real identities, and affect the way in which others read us. Identities “online” and in real life become blurred and it can become hard to differentiate us from our virtual, projected selves.