Social media deeply affects how people perceive themselves and care for their image. Many people, especially college students, will go to great lengths to carefully curate their images and fit into certain narratives.
Psychologists have emphasized for years how social media affects our culture and sense of self. It is safe to assume that since the internet makes people more self-conscious, more people are changing their behavior both on and off the screen.
We have grown accustomed to being skeptical of what we see online, as generative AI content has risen in popularity. Yet, we fail to question the videos that are not obviously fake.
For instance, “day in the life” videos have become commonplace content for even the smallest content creators. But, do these videos show how these people are actually living daily, or, instead, are they posting a specific day during which they perform activities worth bragging about?
It is no shock that social media posts are meticulously created to fit an image with which we want to present ourselves. The shocking part is that this behavior translates into real life, especially at a university so plagued by RushTok and the online glorification of attending an SEC school.
Trying to fit in as an Ole Miss student can look like taking up Pilates, making loaded tea runs or dressing a certain way, solely because those things are popular here. It is obvious when you pay attention to the amount of Parke sweatshirts or Owala water bottles you see on your walk to class. How many students here bought those things because they actually liked them, not just because they were trying to fit in?
Ellie Eubanks, a junior marketing major from Gulfport, Miss., finds that the desire to maintain a perfect image applies in both online and offline interactions.
“I think social media has made us extremely conscious of how we present ourselves, and it has compromised our lives. Everything that is online is a selected version of someone’s reality. It’s just a highlight reel,” Eubanks said. “We are putting so much of our identity into our social media presence that it is easy to lose who we actually are.”
Eubanks mentioned that although online and offline “performances” are different, they stem from the same place.
“Online, it’s easier and more obvious to curate ourselves, while people in real life are adjusting their opinions, personality and interests. It is all coming from people’s desire to be accepted and their insecurities,” Eubanks said.
Conformity through overconsumption, Eubanks said, feels like a safe choice to some students still figuring out their identities.
“Overconsumption here leads to a sense of belonging,” Eubanks said. “Presenting yourself in a safe way prevents you from being seen as different. I have met people who just try to fit in.”
Junior integrated marketing communications major Logan May from Hernando, Miss., said performative behavior is the new normal in everyday interactions. In Oxford, he said, “no one is different.”
“People in this town want to be fake and build this persona of the ‘Ole Miss’ (and) ‘snow globe town’ lifestyle,” May said. “People from all over do this so they can seem more popular or cool to be accepted by their peers.”
He also noted the role social media plays in influencing our decisions.
“It’s like we are living in a constant TikTok trend,” May said. “Everyone needs a new sweatshirt, dress or coffee. People feel the need to be a part of the new trend to not be left behind. There is no personality left. There is no authenticity to people.”
Curated online content is limited to an edited video or post, but in real life, having a curated persona means compromising morals and changing who we are at our core. In assimilating to follow mainstream campus trends, we are losing what makes us who we are. This “snow globe town” is meant to bring us together as a community, but in trying so hard to fit in, we are trapped in a dome of insincerity.
Nataly Tello is a sophomore English and journalism major from Hernando, Miss.
