Second-Hand Experiences

“This post is about the collection of social media apps and the culture around experiencing important events in a second-hand way.”

I remember my cousin convinced me to get Instagram in 2012. She raved about the filters and how it would be the new Facebook in no time. I was hesitant to join but thought I’d stay positive and try it out. Within the next months, I was making regular posts about the things I was experiencing: my first trip to British Columbia, sailing on Lake Huron, spending time with family, and more. I remember so vividly being on a boat one day, in the beautiful summer heat, thinking, “How can I make this experience look really good on Instagram? I want to get as many people to like it as I can. I want my friends to message me about it.” I sat for twenty minutes straight trying to get the right angle, the right look, the right feel… And the moment passed by. Not that it was completely lost but that I was not partaking in it anymore. Instead of watching it, hearing it, feeling it, and living it, I was completely immersed in a 3″ by 3″ photograph of the event. I was experiencing the moment, but through this restricted, inauthentic, and second-hand way. I was already planning how I and others would look back on the moment while it was happening.

It reminds me of the times people film their favourite moments of a concert instead of being in the moment:

Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter X, and so many more. This post is about the collection of social media apps and the culture around experiencing important events in a second-hand way. Or is it not such a diminishing experience? Are people truly missing out on authentic experiences because of the desire to be successful on social media? Or, are people really capable of multitasking their experience, to be living first-hand while planning for the post? Is the experience even more fulfilling because we get to experience it in these two ways: first-hand and reliving through social media?

Possibly, the same thing could be said about photography and photo albums:

However, I’m sure everyone will realize and back the importance of photo albums for social interactions. They provide family history, context, deep emotions, connections, and lengthy reminiscings and conversations. Without these photographs, much would be forgotten.

So perhaps, is social media our new photo album? Where yes, we experience in a second-hand way through “planning the post”, but will it all be worth it? 10 years from now? 50 years from now? Or is social media posting truly different from photography and photo albums?

---