"fuck it, we post" - Millenials, 2024
Why the over 30s are posting like the under 20s and my prediction for posting behaviours
Last year, I wrote a short history on Online Authenticity and posting behaviours, and as we enter #2024, I see a new mass social media approach arriving - not giving a fuck.
This may not seem fresh to think since those born online, Gen Z and Gen Alpha, have been posting freely right out of the womb. They took to selfies as easily as they did breathing, and their parents uploaded them to Facebook without thinking twice.
However, those who are entering the "fuck it, we post" scene are #millennials. Millennials lived through the "age of influence" a time when posting meant boasting. So, when it came to "doing it for the gram" it had a judgemental context to grapple with. Sure, social shares of family, pets, and holidays were all good - no judgement there. But, as soon as your friend with 3,156 followers started to hashtag, tag brands and pose like Molly-Mae, a sour taste would form and the clap-back of "Are you trying to be an influencer or something?" was born. For layman millennials, there was a whole decade of posting being embarrassing (I talked to ELLE Magazine about this in 2022) turning many into social listeners and not contributors.
But times have changed. Previously, "to post was to flex", whereas now "to post is to be".
Due to how they were nurtured, youth have a shared knowing that online self isn't boastful - it's just self. And if there was a concern with "being perceived" or "seen", they created aliases and avatars to enable their online truth. This content finesse has influenced up, and older ages are now posting more frequently, under other @s and just expressing themselves in the same vibrant variety as teens do.
Frankly, I'm excited for it.
Everyone is empowered to post. This year I feel we'll witness incredible juggernauts enter the scene. But, what I most hope is that my friends will be back online posting like it's 2012 again - and if they do, they'll be bang on trend since HUNGER Magazine reported Addison Rae is bringing the Valencia IG filter back.
Thanks for reading my silly little thoughts, but I’d love to know yours too. Share them below on my Linkedin (I read everything).
till the next time i start typing…
lol, emily chapps :)
☆References ☆
MØRNING. | The Booms and Busts of Online Authenticity
ELLE Magazine | The Era Of Cringe
Hunger Magazine | Remember those cringe Instagram filters? Well, they’re back