With the masses.

We live in times where the online identity has gained more importance than your ID, ‘finding your niche’ is thrown at you faster than Trump can be provocative and self branding should be your life goal. A good thing you can say -and must say- since we have more power than ever on how to put ourselves out there.

Although.

We live in times where the amount of white in your instagram pictures collects more likes than posting something relevant. Where an avocado gets double tapped more than your ass ever will and you’re not too sure anymore if that C1 filter was the moneymaker or was it M5?

A like for like, a follow for follow. An eye for an eye?

Yes, life on the web is great. Right?

And while at this moment this story starts to feel rather irrelevant to me next to the past elections, Naomi’s amazing call for #ditchtheplastic, and Joppe’s inspirational shine on life and gender biases, this post feels more like a culmination of all this. A resume of all these stories that bravely leave behind the masses.

What happens on the web reflects our real life. Or is it the other way around? We can wonder if our real life isn’t becoming a copy of how to consume, think, talk, walk, judge, like we saw online. We see what works and use that, mostly without rethinking. We want to live these Pinterest lives shown on Instagram but forget the human factor.

The web is cluttered.
We are cluttered.
We copy impudent without even reflecting.

“Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting.” – Edmund Burke

We all want white walls and cactuses (me included), organise books in color order and look for the perfect marble tray. We love what’s generally loved, we oppose whats generally to be opposed (a colourful insta – definite no go).

But we forget to be ourselves. To use our own passions. To have bad hair days in the weekend. To take a day off from social media. To wear make up no matter the gender (really, some men need it badly). To wear no make up at all. To ask for no straw in your ice tea. To see your own femininity as power and not as a weakness. To speak up in uncomfortable situations. To organize your personal web life the way you want.

Why do we all tap that avocado? Why are we fascinated by this white perfection?

But.

We live in times where the internet is more democratic than ever, you can create a career from almost anything, the world has become the size of a nutshell and you never have to miss a day in a Kardashians life again.

Life on the web is great.

The pictures reflect realness, in a way my own, but mostly the realness of life. In an interior that hasn’t changed for more than 30 years you find reality and comfort.

P.S.: This is my entrance piece for the Zalando Creative Content award. Zalando, who in my opinion had the option to pick any style icon out there but chose not be blinded by that and definitely made a relevant pick.

Dit is mijn inzending voor de Zalando Style Icons // Creative Content Icon.