I’m beginning to wonder if people post photo dumps because they have nothing going on in their life.
“Photo dumps” on Instagram are popular at the moment. These series of random, somewhat unrelated photos include mirror selfies, plates of food, pets, sunsets, and maybe a friend or two, with a caption like “Life lately,” “[Current month] moments,” or “Sign of life.”
Such content is casual per the app’s standards. As long as I remember, the unwritten status quo on Instagram was you post photos with yourself, and your friends, family, and significant others, engaging in some noteworthy activity—anything else stands out as odd.
Photo dumps changed this. Now, you can save up little moments to post at any given time rather than waiting for something big like a New Year’s party, wedding, or vacation.
There’s no risk of ridicule in posting a photo dump (the more I type out this phrase the weirder it sounds). They’re cute. Trendy. So why do I have several drafts saved since September I’m hesitating to send? Why is there a voice inside my head telling me someone is swiping through my wholesome collection of recent photos, and thinking, “Wow, she’s really doing nothing.”
Maybe it’s better to leave everyone guessing, to keep my profile up but free of recent activity. Am I doing nothing, or am I so in the moment I forget to take pictures? Maybe I’m too mature for social media now? If I never post, if I never celebrate anything, maybe I’ll seem like I’m doing something all the time.
The biggest lie of social media is that people are watching, that your Instagram story viewers actually viewed your story, as in they paused and contemplated it, rather than skipping through without even seeing your name.
Logically a photo dump would reveal I’ve done a lot in the last few months. If I do post the most current draft I have saved, you’ll see I tried a martini for the first time. I started a new job and toured new apartments. I rode a train and saw a sunset. I put makeup on at least once. I went to brunch.
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I miss posting in high school, actually, because Instagram felt more like a scrapbook than anything, a little digital diary of the life I was living, a life I was proud of. I knew what I was going to post and when, like I had a mental social calendar for the year: First pep rally, winter formal, prom, and graduation. College wasn't much different: tailgates, on-campus music festivals, formals.
Then, in a serendipitous turn of events, I would do something fun and take good pictures while doing it. A surprise Insta-worthy moment!
That’s the challenge of being a post-grad: Your life isn’t laid out. There’s no social chair planning and dictating your next move. It’s up to you to decide what next big thing is going to happen in your life, what your next big social media post will be.
Or, you could just take a selfie with your dog to save for your March photo dump.