Bali off season is quiet. No packed beach clubs. No pressure to be somewhere. No one really watching. And in that stillness, something shifted. I caught myself asking: If social media didn’t exist, would I still live like this? Would I take this photo? Would I choose this place? Would this moment feel as valuable if no one knew I was here? Sometimes I’m somewhere beautiful and I just want to experience it. And still, there’s this automatic impulse: capture it. Post it. Frame it. Not because it’s fake. But because being seen has quietly become part of being real. Off season feels calm because there’s nothing to perform. And now I’m wondering: What parts of my life are actually mine - and which ones only exist because they can be seen?
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lav
Keeping things private and sharing it only with yourself is a radical action. I wonder if we delude ourselves by always sharing things we love, what do we save for ourselves when our identities become centered around public performance.
hidden
This is beautiful. What do you make of the expression “to be seen is to be loved?” Truly being seen is different than being “viewed” on socials, obviously. But still curious about your thoughts
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die
Beautifully put! 👏🏼
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akai
@die thank you 🙏🏽
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akai
@lav I really feel that. The idea that privacy can be radical says a lot about the time we’re living in and it’s exactly my point: performance… What do we actually keep for ourselves when so much of our identity is shaped in public… and how can we make sure something still exists without an audience.
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akai
@jit Such a good question 😊 I think “to be seen is to be loved” is true but only if we’re talking about being seen in our complexity, not just our highlight reel. Being viewed is surface vs being seen is intimacy. One is numbers, the other is presence. Maybe what confuses us is that socials give us visibility - which feels close to love but it’s not the same thing as someone actually knowing us… And I think a lot of us are still figuring out that difference.
hidden
@akai slay these are my thoughts exactly. Just thought I’d see what your thoughts are
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akai
@jit 🫰🏽🫰🏽
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fabianmk
What I can rally recommend is deleting instagram from your phone if you have a second device like a tablet. It doesn’t give you the chance to use as often the app. Maybe helps you more enjoy the moment.
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fridi105
This is brilliant, there have definitely been moments where I think about taking a photo and then have to stop myself to fully appreciate the moment and have it be just for myself
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