What if there was a real feature on Instagram? -by Aarcha P B

If there was a real feature on Instagram, would there still be aesthetic pictures on your feed? Would there still be smiling faces, interesting bios and killer captions? Don’t most of us live a ‘fake it till we make it’ life? There might be exceptions, I agree. But majority of the people project a charming image of themselves because at the end of the day, all that really matters is the number of likes your recent post got or the number of followers you have. We derive a kind of satisfaction, a kind of pleasure from these mere numbers, don’t we? But how many of our followers are our friends in real life? How many of them will check on you if you delete your account and decide to embrace the charm of oblivion. Very few will, I am sure.

So, imagine that one fine day, Instagram decides to introduce their brand- new feature- ‘Real’. The feature allows you to post only about your real persona. And once you update the app, there will be no going back. You will be allowed to post smiling pictures of you only when you are genuinely happy. You cannot write something on your bio and then live in completely contrasting terms. If you are a ‘fighter’ on your bio, you ought to be a fighter in real life. The real feature also allows you to message a person about your true opinions about him/her. No sugar- coated words, just plain human language. It might make their day, the only condition is that those words should come from your heart. The real feature also makes sure that your close friends list consists only of people with whom you can have a one-to-one conversation. These should be the ones who mean the world to you.

Do you think the app will flourish had it been a real deal? No, right? You and I know that there is never going to be a ‘real’ feature. Perhaps, it is not cool being real anymore. Perhaps, we forgot how to be real at all. Have we forgotten who we really are? No, no, no! Our real selves are a hundred times better than our reel selves. We are all cool. Let us not be part of the crowd. If you prefer reading to watching the most popular movie in town, read! If you prefer emo songs to chart toppers, blast them till your mom scolds you! Let the world know who you really are. Life is not always aesthetic, is it? And if you’d ask me, I’d always say that underrated things are always the best. Be it music, books, movies, anything. So, if you have just 50 followers make sure that they are the best. Being genuine is the real deal, being famous is not. It is not always necessary that people like you. The world would be a very different place, had everyone decided to speak their mind. You might feel left out but there is always a real charm in being yourself. Be whoever you want to be, not who the world wants you to be!

 

Aarcha PB

About Author: Aarcha PB is a student pursuing an Honours degree in English who has an ear for vintage music. She writes poetry for fun and is passionate about reading. She hopes to pursue a career in Journalism.