the case against “no pic hoax”

Mitsalina
3 min readApr 4, 2021

written September 21st 2019, edited April 3rd 2021

Several times, I was wearing a ring I had when a friend asked me where I got it from. I said, I got it when I was in Bali. Then I explained to their slightly confused faces, yes I went to Bali and I didn’t post anything on any social platforms when I was there. The responses took me aback. It’s almost as if we struggle to see the line as the real world merge almost seamlessly with the ones we inhabit in our phones.

It’s almost as if something didn’t happen if there are no pictures online proving that it did.

And I find it funny, how just 10 or 20 years ago, pictures were some kind of privilege. On special occasions we would take certain measures to make sure the event is well documented, whether it was a wedding, a birthday party, or your child’s first day of school. Pictures were there to help us remember the moments we hold dearest. Somehow we ended up here, where at all times we have cameras on hand, those not only able to take high quality pictures on command, but also make a phone call, browse the web, and send a text.

And I got stranded in this world so oversaturated with pictures and videos documenting every aspect of our lives, that in the moment that matters most, I just want to stay still and bask in the glory of the fleeting moment where I can call myself content. No cameras involved. We have arrived in a spot in history where the greatest appreciation you can give to a moment is to be present and attentive, where a mental picture worth a thousand physical and digital ones.

Even when I feel like taking pictures and sharing them to the world, I mull over for longer than I’m willing to admit of whether I’m posting for the mere joy of sharing, or do I have this image of myself I’m trying to project? Is this picture of a stainless straw and reusable bags meant to spread awareness, or make others think that I am eco-friendly? Is this Spotify track in my instagram story meant to share good music, or make others think I’m edgy? I loathe the pretentiousness that these platforms tend to bring out in people, and I tried so hard to stray that I just don’t post anything for weeks or months at a time. I was always present, as an observer instead of a contributor, witnessing the pretentiousness slowly saturate the field of view. Then I loathe it even more, making a negative feedback loop resulting in longer periods of social media abstinence.

But what if what I’m doing is actually pretending to be un-pretentious? Doesn’t that make me, not only pretentious, but also a hypocrite? Has it reach full circle, that to not be pretentious means to own up to being pretentious? No, these are not opening questions to a big revelation, these are genuine questions I still fail to find the answers to. And I find myself wondering if the answer lies in the deactivate account button.

--

--