third clique

Social media once brought us closer to the world, but now it demands we constantly share our lives- have we sacrificed ourselves for the whims and fancies of Instagram?

Do we remember moments, or do we recall the way they looked on a screen? We have entered a realm where a birthday post is incomplete without a perfect boomerang video of blowing out candles on a last-minute cake on Instagram and where having fun in a concert is measured by the number of videos you take of yourself losing in the music. The worst of all? Even ordinary chores such as grocery shopping feel incomplete without geotags and aesthetic shots of fruits and veggies. It’s not about where we go, it’s about how it looks online.

Image Credits:Aditi Bora, Styled by Aditi Bora
Model in frame: Kripani Ajmani

Megha Shaw, a 27-year-old IT professional based in Gurgaon, say: she has noticed a shift in how people operate social media and valu their privacy. “Earlier it was about connections, keeping in touch with near and dear ones – but now it is about dopamine hits and connecting with the maximum people one can.” She adds, “The irony is that Gen Z is the most anxious, and privacy-conscious generation, and yet they willingly share every waking moment with an audience of strangers.”

That’s because, for them, if it’s not on Instagram, did it even happen? If you have not documented every second of your existence with filters and a 10-part Instagram story —did you even live? Instagram has turned our lives into a never-ending content creation project. Birthdays, vacations, coffee runs, and college classroom shenanigans are turning into performative experiences where the real joy of being present gets overshadowed by the need to capture it perfectly.

Image Credits: Pinterest

This generation has mastered the art of digital existence so well that their most cherished moments exist more on their profiles than in their minds. Aisha Kashyap, a 22-year-old fashion design student from Royal Global University, Guwahati, says that the constant posting on Instagram has become the measure of a person’s self-worth in the current digital sphere. “Sadly, likes and comments are a measure of popularity and acceptance. I’ve seen people delete posts if they don’t get enough engagement. It’s scary how much our confidence can depend on an algorithm.”

When asked about why our generation feels an intrinsic need to capture everything. Kashyap says that since social media has been around for decades, documenting our lives has become a natural inclination. “We want to be seen, to share experiences, and to feel connected. There is a fear of missing out—if something exciting occurs and it’s not captured, it feels like it didn’t just happen. Plus, our generation grew up with social media, so this new normal feels like keeping a personal diary.”

The saddest part is that such sanitized digital memories are a façade. They are often contradictory to the reality where everything is fully saturated for maximum engagement, likes and comments. Dr. Dimpy Mahanta, a 37-year-old psychology professor from Cotton University, Guwahati, mentions that a person’s Instagram page is more often than not, a reflection of who they strive to be. She emphasizes, “Instagram pages of Gen Zers are a window into their aspirational identity.

Image Credits: Pinterest

Unlike older generations who might have used media passively. They actively curate what they consume, and their feeds are a collage of idealized aesthetics and personalities they are drawn to and who they hope to be.” Instagram has turned people’s lives into highlight reels that look much cooler online than offline. The awkward and unfiltered moments that once surrounded and filled us with unbridled laughter and joy—are now, officially dead. We are facing the demise of Real and the birth of Reel. At the end of the day, some of the best moments don’t need to be captured; they just need to be lived.