Is Instagram Reality?

Or, how our society became ocularcentric

Have you ever seen a post on social media that says something like “Instagram isn’t reality”? This is most commonly associated with influencers, who have large follower counts, accrued by displaying the “best version of themselves”, typically looking attractive in enviable locations. It’s an odd statement taken at face value. Of course Instagram isn’t reality, why would we need to be reminded it isn’t? But, by asking that question, we find ourselves in knee deep in some strange waters, that begins with asking: what is reality?

The study of reality is known as ‘Metaphysics’. It is one of the oldest and most complex branches of philosophy, which many other branches fall under, and even where religion intersects. It’s a huge topic and beyond the scope of an essay on Medium, but suffice to say a working definition of reality is well beyond even science’s reach at this point in human evolution. We just don’t know what reality is.

For most people though, this kind of high-minded pondering isn’t necessary. We need to know where our food is and where our bed is and how we might exist in between those tasks. This means, reality, for most of us at least, is material i.e. what we can see and touch is what is real. And here’s where the trouble begins.