DIGITAL LIFE VERSUS REAL LIFE

I recently stumbled upon the Instagram page of a very famous blogger who recently gave birth and has been bombarding her 10 million + followers with intimate pictures of her baby. The pictures feature her and the baby in the clinic room, in the arms of the father crying – the newborn baby’s every angle is given for the world to see.

And it begs some questions. I’m not judging – or at least I’m trying my best not to – but I can’t hide that I felt very uneasy seeing those photos.

First of all, the fact that these photos exist suggest that a third party was present in the young mother’s room, because they’re clearly not selfies. Family member? Photographer? I don’t know but the fact remains that seeing pictures of such excessively intimate moments in a woman/new mother’s life leaves me full of a strange feeling of voyeurism.

Secondly, the newborn baby whose photo is being shared with the entire world hasn’t asked for any of it. Beyond the fact that they might be receiving the flashlights in the eyes – not very cool if it’s the case – their digital image is already outside of their control because a frontal picture of them was published only days after the birth. I imagine that the baby will have an Instagram page sooner rather than later, if it’s not already the case.

And it begs the question: What motivates relatively famous people to act as if their lives were part of some extremely staged reality tv by sharing these moments of absolute intimacy?

It seems like things have to be published in order to be immortalised. Worse still, it seems like things don’t even exist if they haven’t been published.

March 31, 2018

Max Mara coat – Helmu Lang leather leggings – Sergo Rossi heels – Prada handbag – Maison Muriel gloves – Tara Jarmon fur collar