The last few years have seen a cultural shift in social media whereby people are sharing excessively, blurring the private and public parts of themselves. While this has spurred some users to passively use the app and resist oversharing, most Instagram users have leaned into social media usage, most using it as a source of income. This trend of oversharing has presented itself in posting photo dumps. In the peak of summer, just over two months ago, Instagram launched its latest update, allowing users to post up to 20 photos per carousel. Amidst the fascination with photo dumps, this update allows users to include even more aesthetically pleasing photos, stretching the obsession further.
‘Dumping’ your followers with an array of photos has become the norm in the last few years. It seemed to become a trend around the time of the pandemic when people were isolated and craving connection. Posting a collection of mismatched pictures would’ve been the best way to visualise that time- no moment standing out more than the rest. I believe that it was the lack of going out, dressing up and celebrating in our personal lives that pushed people to post the more mundane, daily parts of our lives. Even the world’s biggest celebrities joined in, including Dua Lipa, Olivia Rodrigo and Ariana Grande, cementing the trend’s position on Instagram.
While users still post stories, single photos or videos, dumps seem to rule over all content. Whether it’s a collection of 20 photos from a life-changing Euro summer trip or 3 photos from a wedding weekend, people have moved away from posting just a single photo. Rather than offering just a single moment, people post multiple pictures of different things and settings, sharing multiple aspects of their lives and personalities. This could be seen as a rebellion against the act of glamorising your life on social media by posting more realistic content, which reflects the mundane or even sad parts of your life. These dumps break the assumption that people live ‘perfect’ lives where they are always happy. On the other hand, most people and influencers lean into the aesthetics of a polished feed, filled with luxury holidays and fancy meals. Perhaps the reason these two extremes exist in social media is because of the want for a satisfying middle ground where people post desirable yet relatable content.
Upon first glance, a dump seems like a haphazardly random collection of photos, but more times than not, the group of pictures have been specifically selected to fit an overarching ‘vibe’. This process is similar, as tricky and satisfying as producing a collage. Ironically, a dump is produced to give off an air of effortlessness, while its user has generally put their sweat and tears into making sure it is just right. By showing their life from a specifically selected window, they show only the best parts of their life.
Instagram influencers and general users have taken this feature as a way to produce more high-engagement and high-volume content, which Instagram thrives on, using the dump to ‘sell’ their lives to their followers.
The New Yorker explains that social media “oscillates between aestheticised perfection and aestheticised mess, between minimalism and maximalism”, and dumps swing on the pendulum between the two extremes, aiming for success and a spot on the algorithm.[1] As previously mentioned, social media users wish to secure the sweet spot between happy and sad, admiration and jealousy, relatability and a point of inspiration. On the surface, this desire shows itself as a need to stay relevant which sits on top of the want to connect with followers and offer support. But social media wasn’t always this calculated, whether it was showcasing perfection or a mess. Looking back on the Facebook albums of the 2000s shows us that there was a carefree approach to sharing your life, something that seems to be missing now.
The Smart Set claims that “photo dumps are reminiscent of Facebook albums… [they] feel retro. They’re the film cameras and vinyl music of posting”, and I do believe that was the intention, but only a select few follow through with this.[2] I believe people, including myself, meticulously pick out each image, zooming into its focus and order. Meanwhile, the infamous Facebook albums are filled with repeated takes, blurry selfies, and inaesthetic content, which is far from today’s Instagram dumps. I believe the factor that truly sets them apart is the targeted audience. The Facebook albums were primarily for catching up family and friends with recent life events such as a holiday. But today’s Instagram behaviour has been altered by influencer culture, which has been specifically curated to entice all, capturing all the engagement they can. Perhaps this is the reality of the age of content creators.
Across the internet, there are now guides and blogs on putting together the effortlessly perfect dump as if they’re a specific formula. We all, as users, have been tempted by the allure of photo dumps, but by design, they’re meant to take the pressure off posting. They should allow for relaxed posting with our close and personal friends, which begs the question… will we continue being subservient to trends and the aestheticised perfection they promise, or will we offer our true selves, no matter how messy or silly? I believe the way forward is to find a middle ground by posting realistic content as well as treating ourselves to something fancy. Whether this middle ground is something that already exists or needs to be created is up to each and every user and the content they upload.
Social media should be a place of authenticity rather than curation.
insta dump - pinterest
Comments