This "Instagram Vs. Real Life" Video Is Too Real

Well, my days of pretending "I woke up like this" are officially over. Buzzfeed's "Instagram Vs. Real Life" Video is on to me and my lying ways. In reality, it's all of our lying ways because, let's be honest, whose Instagrams are ever an accurate reflection of their daily activities? From posting pictures of ourselves grabbing a latte to hitting the nightclub in a foreign city, we're constantly trying to manipulate our pictures to reflect what we want to look like rather than how we may look in real life.

Buzzfeed intends to parody this false advertising in its new video, which walks us through the everyday life of an Instagram-aholic as she takes pictures to make her life seem more exciting. She interrupts a nice meal to Instagram the food, forces her friend to take a picture of her doing yoga, and (my personal favorite) chases her dog around so she can take a selfie with it. It's hysterical to watch... until you realize that you're that girl.

Most of you know what I'm talking about it. If you're like me, you don't want to admit it, and will argue that you care about a lot more important things than making the difficult choice between Earlybird and Valencia, but it's hard not to get caught in the fray of being an Instagram user. After a while you find yourself removing photos if you don't get enough likes, or forcing yourself to post at the same time each day to ensure maximum exposure. The result is a picture that's severely misleading, whose likes are the result of careful strategy rather than an indication of general interest. It's almost enough to make you feel a little ashamed about what you're doing.

Until you realize you just don't give a damn. If forcing your dog to take a selfie with you or snapping a pic at a party that's not all that great is important to you, who's to say it's wrong? Buzzfeed is right to poke fun at our Instagram obsessions without discouraging them or putting them down. I'd also argue the Instagram encompasses a certain degree of artistic expression — perhaps a shallow one, but artistic expression nonetheless. After all, everyone's Instagram choices are different, and a reflection of where our interests lie (or where we'd like them to). The important thing to remember is that Instagram should be fun, not a competition! And even though sometimes we can't help wanting the most likes possible, at the end of the day, all that matters is that we're enjoying The Gram rather than agonizing over it.

Image and Video: YouTube