Instagram's Most Ironic Hashtag
"If there is, among all words, one that is inauthentic, then surely it is the word 'authentic.'" -Maurice Blanchot
Socality is a fairly recent “movement” that encourages Instagrammers to share photos (with the official #socality hashtag, of course) for the purpose of benefiting their community and glorifying God. What it has become, however, is a front-running enabler of fabricated selflessness. The organization’s tagline, “A social community for all eternity,” is apparently meant to reflect the organization's goal of bringing together like-minded Instagrammers for the sake of the Gospel, yet the majority of #socality posts equate to nothing more than a shameless plea for validation through "likes." One of the most popular hashtags used by Socality followers is #liveauthentic.
Both the #liveauthentic and #socality feeds are essentially a compilation of white, twentysomething, faux-hipsters going on a bunch of hikes, wearing an entire Urban Outfitters store in one outfit, and brewing mugs of steaming, organic, fair trade French press at the top of a mountain. Directly following this extensive ordeal, a true Socality member (that is, an Instagrammer who wants to make an "eternally" positive impact on their community) will snap an extensive series of photographs, subsequently posting the most authentic photo of the bunch alongside an inspirational quote or poem. (FYI, for tips on how to properly filter photos in order to make them look their most authentic, consult this insightful guide.) This whole proccess is alledgedly meant to proclaim Jesus' love and bring together a "community of creatives."
Outsiders aren't buying it.
Because the selflessness and authenticity that the organization portrays is clearly contrived, Socality's leaders are under constant pressure to apologize and excuse their way out of it. “It’s not just about how many followers you have on whatever social media platform…” one of the group's founders explains in their About Us video, which can be viewed on their homepage. No, it’s about being as authentic as possible. That makes sense, because there is nothing more authentic than going hiking in a pair of Birkenstocks... and then adding a filter.
(Photo: Socality)
I have friends who are contributors to Socality and regularly post heavily edited, perfectly framed photos of mountains and lakes, then in an additional comment below the caption, insert a giant brick of hashtags (aside from #socality and #liveauthentic, #livefolk, #passionpassport, and #lifeofadventure are currently some of the most popular within this genera). After a few days, once they've acquired a sufficient amount of "likes" through the hashtag exposure, they delete the hashtags like nothing ever happened. It’s so nauseatingly captivating that I have been endlessly stalking the Socality movement since its creation in early 2014. As of now, the official hashtag has nearly 2 million photograph contributions, and the Socality account has 169,000 followers (while it only follows 89 users itself).
The Socality epidemic isn’t causing any significant harm, per-se, except perhaps by enabling unwarranted praise and validation whilst encouraging an unhealthy social media addiction. However, it is incredibly irritating. Mostly because Socality preaches tirelessly about its obscure, selfless mission statement, yet for the most part, is nothing more than a tool for boosting follower count.
(Photo: Socality Barbie)
A parody account that emerged in early June of this year, Socality Barbie, pokes fun at the outdoorsy hipster #authentic club with its satirical images and captions. Socality Barbie's 1.2 million followers reflect the swarm of Instagrammers who find the #liveauthentic/Socality movement both humorous and obnoxious. “I created the account to make fun of the people who were using the ‘liveauthentic’ hashtag on Instagram," the account's anonymous creater, a Portland-based photographer, explained in an interview with Koin 6 news. "All their pictures looked alike to me and I couldn’t tell them apart anymore so it just didn’t seem all that authentic."
(Photo: Socality Barbie)
Searching deep down within the darkest, dirtiest, most authentic caverns of my soul, I discover exactly why I spend so much valuable time editing photos and posting them on social media, and I would like to formally confess what that reason is: I post photos on Instagram solely to proclaim to each and every one of my beloved followers what an incredibly adventurous, well-lit, breathtakingly symmetrical, #blessed life I have. I don't post pictures of trees and coffee for the glory of God (I doubt God even has an Instagram account, even if Jesus is on Facebook, so how's he supposed to see them in the first place?) and I don't do it for the benefit of my community. Neither does anyone else -- not even Socality's loyal disciples.
