Facebook and Instagram posts should come with a disclaimer: “People in photos are not as lyrically happy, skinny or blemish-free as they appear.” Throughout the day, we tend to use social media as a form of escapism. Yet research has shown that when we’re feeling down, bombarding ourselves with carefully curated snippets of other people’s lives only exacerbates the problem. We fall into social comparison holes where we stack up our most banal moments against the veritable highlight reels we see before us. Jealousy, low self-esteem and depression often follow.
Thus, it’s important for us to adjust our attitude towards social media, remember that no one’s life is perfect. Not even models’, despite their branded airplane rides and catwalk strolls and impeccable genetics. Just ask Jazz Egger, a London Fashion Week vet and former Germany’s Next Top Model contender. To highlight the fact that her life is not nearly as perfect as her glossy Instagram would have outsiders believe, the model has been revising her captions using the hashtag #truthbehindthisshot. In her real AF retroactive musings, the model shares her body insecurities, the challenges she faces at work and the considerable amount of effort that goes into crafting her online persona.
Exhibit A: Originally, Jazz captioned the following photo with: “Photoshop lvl 7000 / sorry @robertsakowski for destroying your wonderful work xx.”
A photo posted by J A Z Z E G G E R (@jazzegger) on
Later, she added the following dose of reality: “My agency told me on that day that my hips were way too wide and that I needed to lose weight in order to have a chance at London Fashion Week. I already was underweight so I decided to not lose any weight. I still got confirmed for LFW.”
In an interview with Distractify, Egger said the idea for #truthbehindthisshot came from her frustration with the modeling industry. (A rather common complaint.) “Casting directors started asking me how many followers I have [on Instagram] so they can decide whether they want me for a job or not,” Egger told the site. “So today, I decided to post a selfie with a different caption than usual. I was honest. I’m so sick of people pretending to have a perfect life because I know their Instagram feed is full of lies which support stereotypical standards.”
A photo posted by J A Z Z E G G E R (@jazzegger) on
Egger continued: “I think no one shall feel bad if they don’t live a life everyone is pretending to have so I started #TruthBehindThisShot to show the real stories behind my pictures. I edited my captions and added the truth.” Jazz’s edits go as far as 33 weeks back — and based the following post, she has no intention of stopping her clarity crusade:
A photo posted by J A Z Z E G G E R (@jazzegger) on
Scroll down to read more of Jazz’s refreshingly honest edits. And next time you’re wishing for Kendall Jenner‘s life, remember her recent decision to Insta-detox. At the end of the day, for every post, in every life, there’s a #TruthBehindThisShot.
A photo posted by J A Z Z E G G E R (@jazzegger) on
A photo posted by J A Z Z E G G E R (@jazzegger) on
A photo posted by J A Z Z E G G E R (@jazzegger) on
[ via Mic ]
