What if You Didn’t Get Any “Likes” or Comments on Your Photos?

Garden Grove, 2015 #cindyproject
Garden Grove, 2015 #cindyproject

What if we lived a life where the only affirmation or criticism we got was from ourselves?

Dear friend,

I had a thought the other day: what if we didn’t care whether others praised us or not, and we only felt affirmation from ourselves?

The ultimate ‘zen’ photo sharing app?

Another fun thought experiment:

Would you use a social media app, in which you uploaded photos, you didn’t get any “likes” or “comments” — or couldn’t easily view your number of followers?

Actually, it currently exists. VSCO has a “social” platform which you can upload photos to. But it doesn’t show you likes, views, comments, or (easily) how many followers you have.

I’ve been experimenting with VSCO’s social platform — and it is a strange feeling. I have a photo I really like, that I want to share. I then upload it to VSCO. Then I sit. Then I wait. And then nothing happens. I check my photo, and there is no “likes”, “comments”, or feedback.

After doing that, I don’t feel happy, nor do I feel sad. I feel steady and tranquil. I feel “normal.”

I then realized, “Why am I even uploading this? Am I uploading this image to share it with others? Or am I doing it to get feedback, praise, or comments from others?”

Life without feedback?

Going back to our original question — what if we lived a life in which we didn’t get feedback from others, or better yet— what if we lived a life in which we didn’t “need” positive affirmation from others?

What if we lived a life in which when others praised us, it wouldn’t make us happier? What if we lived a life in when others criticized us, it didn’t make us any more miserable?

What if we lived a life where the only affirmation or criticism we got was from ourselves?

Assignment: Use VSCO to upload your photos

As an experiment, try this out: go a week and only upload your photos to the VSCO mobile “social” platform. Download VSCO to your phone, use Dropbox or Google Drive to sync your photos from your computer to your phone, and upload your favorite photos.

See how this makes you feel. Do you feel happier that your photos are “out there” and exist on this social platform? Do you feel that it is pointless, because you’re not getting any feedback (in terms of likes/comments) on your photos? Or do you feel more peace and serenity, because by uploading the photos you’re curating the photos for yourself?

Experiment, and think to yourself: “Why do I upload photos?”

Always,
Eric

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