Picture this: on an especially sunny day or in an incredibly aesthetic restaurant, you are enjoying a meal, a walk, a laugh, or a class with a friend when suddenly, they slip their phone into your hand and utter, “Bro, can you take this candid of me real quick?” You recover quickly from the interruption and get to work, taking multiple pictures a minute. “Wait, don’t tilt the phone! But not that straight bro,” they say. “Can you get a bit lower, actually?” You bend. “Not that low!” You straighten. “Don’t make it full body… How should I pose? Should I laugh?” And as you stand with your knees bent but not too low, and hold the phone as straight as possible but also slightly tilted, and snap away, you think to yourself, “What happened to the candid?”
In recent years, some social media users have developed a nostalgia for what they call “casual Instagram”. This is a style of posting on social media where you try as hard as you can to seem as nonchalant as possible about your social media presence. Showing your audience how little you care about how they perceive you by posting pictures of things like the sun (in its brightest and most unphotogenic state), yourself in an unflattering pose or outfit, your man, barely visible at the corner of the screen (stop soft-launching so hard, we cannot see!) or childhood photos. There have been discussions on various online platforms about how casual Instagrams are an aesthetic of their own and a greater performance, suggesting that people who portray their relaxedness about social media to prove their nonchalance are achieving the opposite through their efforts.
In a viral Tiktok video by user akilimoree, he compares casual Instagram to reality TV shows like Real Housewives or Love Island, and performative Instagram to regular scripted TV shows like Succession. While they both have behind-the-scenes teams of writers, directors, actors and producers who plan everything to be received by the audience in a specific light, reality TV wants you to believe it is real life and not at all scripted. Of course, millions of people watch reality TV despite the fact that it is not 100% real, with some truly believing that it is. In the same way, we like and repost celebrities’ posts captioned “I woke up like this” as they don a full face of makeup in a room with perfect lighting and ironed pyjamas.
The Oxford Reference defines suspension of disbelief as “the concept that to become emotionally involved in a narrative, audiences must react as if the characters are real and the events are happening now, even though they know it is ‘only a story’”. Casual Instagrams, despite their apparent spontaneity, often involve a similar suspension of disbelief. Viewers engage with these posts as if they are glimpses into genuine moments, even though they are aware of the effort behind the scenes. Just as audiences willingly overlook the scripted nature of reality shows to immerse themselves in the drama, users suspend disbelief on Instagram to connect with the perceived authenticity of casual posts.
The disconnect could be coming from wanting to halt the performance and begin a new, more authentic version of your online persona. But is that at all possible? In an interview with Fashion Magazine, psychologist Dr Joti Samra said, “When we are posting, we are, by definition, ‘performing’ … “We’re pressing the ‘on’ button and gazing toward a camera. There are always going to be some performance components to that. It’s a fallacy: When we think something looks so natural, it never is.”
So, what is the solution?
This phenomenon reflects a broader cultural shift towards valuing authenticity in media consumption. People crave genuine connections and relatable content, even if it is carefully curated. So Facade or not, casual Instagram allows users to engage with each other’s content in a way that fosters authenticity and intimacy in a disconnected digital landscape. Users have flocked to other apps in search of something different. If Tiktok is loved for its funny content, X is hated for its craziness, and Threads…well, who knows what happens over there. Can Instagram ever be known for its casual style?
Is it casual now? It could be? Maybe the casual Instagram is the friends we made along the way. On the bright side, it offers some hope that with each posed candid photo, there is the desire for a true candid moment. And as the times continue to change on social media, perhaps we are all inching towards a more authentic online presence.
