By Ava Schwab | Reporter
What we post and how we curate our online presence feel like who we are. But the danger lies in how quickly we assume someone’s feed tells the whole story. We should not be making conclusions about someone based on what they consume or post.
In an oversaturated content market, people use online sources and social media to express who they are. Generation Z has found ever-increasing ways to do so. Apps such as Spotify Wrapped, Letterboxd, Instagram, Pinterest and Goodreads have become a virtual litmus test. They don’t just track our preferences; they’ve become a medium for the way people are judging someone’s character.
Forbes said 90% of consumers read reviews before visiting a business. We scroll through Spotify Wrapped, Letterboxd, Instagram feeds and newer apps like the Tea App, all of which allow us insight into someone without ever even meeting them. But not everything. Given a username, it’s tempting to think that we can know someone by their taste, curation and preference. But the truth is that we are more than that.
The danger lies in what’s lost: our humanity.
What we lose when we judge people by their taste is a glimpse into the traits that make them more than a number, post or rating. So, yes, sometimes taste is telling. But when it is, it usually tells us how little some people have tapped into themselves. After all, it gets exhausting talking to a human-Letterboxd.
Someone’s post about their workout classes doesn’t prove they’re active, just as someone’s Goodreads doesn’t actually tell you anything about their personality. Think of the ways we assume we know celebrities based on a glimpse of their curated online presence, when in reality we do not.
When we reduce people to their online presence, we limit their ability to connect fully and be multifaceted. In a quick judgment call, we essentially erase their humanity.
People are not just comprised of quick reviews they post or curated Instagram reels. We are more than an online presence; we are dimensional. Whoever said people have to stick with one “aesthetic” has clearly never experienced different cultures.
We are different, changing and capable of complexity. Our nature demands it.
Taste isn’t a test; it’s just a snapshot.
So next time you’re surfing Spotify Wrapped this December, resist the urge to assume. After all, would you really want people to assume your personality based on that?
