Authenticity

So the Sociality Barbie Instagram account made the rounds this week.

According to Wired, the creator of this account wanted to “poke fun at all the people hashtagging photos with #liveauthentic and #socality. The homogeneity of their authenticity and universality of their socality all but demanded satirization.”

Apparently Socality is some sort of hipster Christian movement, but I doubt many of the Instagramers participating in the hashtag know that.

Coffee & Kinfolk. Cuz my lyfe is beautiful. 💁 #coffee #vsco #vscocam #socality #liveauthentic #livefolk #kinfolk #kinfolkmag #visualcoop #getoutside #letsgosomewhere #neverstopexploring #explore #adventure #lifeofadventure #pnw #pacificnorthwest #thatpnwlife #northwestisbest #thegreatpnw #greatnorthcollective #socalityportland #pdx #communityfirst #oregon #upperleftusa #peoplescreatives #wildernessculture #instagoodmyphoto #herpnwlife

A photo posted by Socality Barbie (@socalitybarbie) on Aug 19, 2015 at 11:01am PDT

Road trip. Ready for this weekends adventure in the mountains! 🌲🗻 #vsco #vscocam #socality #liveauthentic #livefolk #kinfolk #visualcoop #finditliveit #getoutside #letsgosomewhere #neverstopexploring #exploreeverthing #exploremore #explore #adventure #lifeofadventure #pnw #pacificnorthwest #thatpnwlife #northwestisbest #thegeatpnw #greatnorthcollective #socalityportland #pdx #communityfirst #oregon #upperleftusa #peoplescreatives #wildernessculture #instagood A photo posted by Socality Barbie (@socalitybarbie) on Jul 10, 2015 at 11:45am PDT

Karen Swallow Prior wrote in The Atlantic that the core marker of hipsterdom is “the claim of authenticity, a claim that paradoxically, is undermined by the very self-consciousness required to stake such a claim.”

This is exactly what Sociality Barbie satirizes.

What makes someone inauthentic on Instagram?

Instagram is inherently staged and curated – we decide which photos to upload, and how to edit them. The core objection of Sociality Barbie seems to be:

1. The hypocrisy of claiming that highly produced images are signifiers of simplicity (or “authenticity”), and,
2. That these images are cliché (and specifically, not adding anything to the conversation)

The Sociality Barbie creator told Wired: “I get it, it’s pretty to look at, but it’s so dishonest. Nobody actually lives like this. And it’s so overdone that it’s becoming boring.”

I often wonder if I’m guilty of this type of thirsty behavior.

Where is the line between “creating the content you want to see” and simply copying others for the likes?

Is there a problem with copying others for the likes?

My company creates tactical, high-impact content for our clients. Most of the content strategy tactics are A/B tested or shamelessly stolen inspired by competitors.

Intentionally creating content that people like is smart marketing for a business, but somehow seems distasteful or “inauthentic” for an individual.

I think the difference is that we know that a company or celebrity has a clear financial goal, but the motivations for a “regular” person are less clear. That’s what makes it seem like the person is thirsty engaging in attention-seeking behavior.

But perhaps criticism of this type of behavior is simply a backlash limited to a small number of intellectuals and magazine writers. Maybe the same (irrelevant) set of people who call others “yuppies.”

I think the most important thing for any online content producer to do is create content that is fun and meaningful, and not worry about what critics or parody Instagram Barbies have to say.