When we scroll through Instagram, it seems like almost everyone is living their best life. Everyone’s hair looks perfect; everyone’s smiling, everyone’s children are well behaved… But I learned a long time ago that Instagram isn’t reality. I still sometimes have to remind myself that there’s a lot more hiding behind those seemingly perfect lives, bodies, pets, children, travels, and meals. So, I made a little collection of posts that show what Instagram would look like if people were honest in the captions under those flawless images.
But before we proceed, here’s a disclaimer: this post isn’t meant to offend anyone or generalize people and their photos. I didn’t make mockups to make fun of the people in them; these are just stock photos I found that illustrate some of the most common photos I see on Instagram. This post was made to remind ourselves that people’s lives are much more from what we see on social media. Ultimately, it was made just for fun, and I sure had fun while making these mockups.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let me tell you a bit of how I got the idea. When scrolling through Instagram, I mainly see what I’ve chosen to see – posts from people I know and care about, and tons of arts, crafts, astronomy, photography, animals, etc. But when I visit the Explore page, there’s the real face of Instagram: the one where lives are everything but real. Perfect photos with captions that make everything appear even more perfect. So, I decided to create these mockups. I paired them with life experiences that my friends or I have had so far, confirming that life is sometimes far from perfect. But we still love it, though.
Of course, I had to make one more and joke with myself and my cat. It’s actually my mom’s and brother’s pet, but I love him too, and I took care of him while my family was on vacation.
Now, let me ask you – can you relate to any of this? Have you done any of it? I sometimes shared those night-out selfies when I had a terrible time. I also shared photos with/of my ex-boyfriend even when we were close to the breakup. Oh, and if I ever share a photo of my perfectly curly hair, it will definitely be after 46 products and a whole day of styling and drying. What kind of posts would you add to the list?
