Stevi+P’s+OpEd+Article

Self Image

United Kingdom street artist, Banksy creates two-dimensional thought-provoking interpretations of political and pop-cultural issues to create humorously satirical pieces. One of his most recent works depicts a boy receiving zero notifications on Instagram, and thusly throwing a tantrum. His piece prompts the obvious interpretation, "Are we too dependent on the standards of others? Do their "likes" stroke our egos, allow us to have documented acceptance of our peers, and therefore give us the illusion of satisfaction?"  Housing an explosion of personal information that is selectively chosen to represent the bests parts of ourselves, IG (as well as all of the other user-friendly social media sites we exploit today) allows for a virtual diary (except not at all private, and permanently stored), a creative outlet to document your choices: food, friends, concerts. **Bragging rights**. "Am I good enough for you?" The competition is perpetual when you compare your day with others' and the struggle is #real because they went to see the #TheFaultInOurStarsPremier and you didn't #:( Since when did being a #whitegurl in #SoCal equate to daily #Starbucks runs and an inherited infatuations with hipster-indie bands //you've// probably never heard of? Since when did the daily check-in of the ratio of new-to-lost followers determine my mood? Banksy's art represents a truth to the #ridiculous addictions our fingers have to the black hole of internet and strive for acceptance through media and peer-dependant gratification. #basic #Banksy #tag4likes #selfie #me #mylife #UK #EnglandLife #hashtag