A Glimpse Of Social Media In Real Life

Social Media In Real Life: Have you ever wondered what our everyday social media habits would look and feel like in the offline world?

“Data”, an ad by Ogilvy Johnnesburg, originally created to advertise the company Cell C, a leading mobile provider in South Africa, wonders how social media interaction could take place in real life. The ad was first launched back in 2013 but still feels very relevant today.

Just think how different life would if we used a Polaroid camera instead of Instagram or if updating a status required you to shout it aloud in public. This film challenges the audience to think outside of the box and imagine a world without social media.

Here is what life would be like without data:

While in most cases online identities mirror offline personalities, this does not always hold true! The majority of social media users can attest that receiving attention on their posts (whether it be tweets, statuses, photos, etc.) is what they enjoy most about the world of social media. Audience engagement is what drives most users to post consistently.

Social media audiences can greatly influence an account’s content and even pressure users to maintain a certain image, which is typically an elevated version of themselves. In some cases, content is deliberately exaggerated to gain the desired reaction – or a reaction in general!

When a user’s content is fabricated, their authentic self is lost; thus an online identity is born.

So, can we follow you?