There are two versions of ourselves: who we really are, and who we pretend to be online. Social media’s dominance in young people’s lives has allowed us to pick and choose what parts of ourselves we want others to see. We’re all constantly filtering out certain parts of ourselves, delivering what we’ve deemed acceptable and presentable to the internet. To a certain extent, social media has allowed us the luxury of choosing how we want to be perceived.
With this comes the responsibility for both yourself and others to make sure that the “you” you’re projecting is representative of your reality and beliefs. One of the many appeals of social media is that it allows us to see the personal, “real” parts of people. But we’re all so constantly bombarded with Facetuned selfies and Snapchat filters that the “reality” we’re presented with is in fact artificial. This shoot was set up to show both reality and reality filtered. It visualizes both who we are in person, and who we are through a screen.
Photos by Lauren Hicks
Modeled by Summer Parsons
Assisted by Bryce Dorand
