LIVING IN PUBLIC

“The camera eats first.” A decade ago, that phrase was a joke about influencers and their avocado toast. Now it’s shorthand for how every corner of life—dinners, cleaning, milestones, even grief—can be packaged for public consumption. We live in a world where intimacy has become inventory, where the difference between living and posting is often just a matter of lighting.

- BY TAYLOR CRUMPTON

The rise of the creator economy has blurred the line between the personal and the performative. What was once private—a positive pregnancy test, a baby shower, a child’s first day of school—has become brand content. For many creators, the more intimate the moment, the more lucrative the post. The financial incentive to share has turned the private self into an asset class.

The blueprint was laid years ago by mommy bloggers, whose lives became a business model. Now, their children, who grew up online, are speaking out, questioning why their childhood memories became monetized content. Their discomfort is a warning: we have turned our most personal experiences into public labor.

Social media platforms reward visibility. Algorithms don’t distinguish between authenticity and performance—they simply amplify what’s most clickable. As journalist Chanté Joseph wrote in British Vogue, women once gained status online by showing off a relationship; now, they hide their partners to preserve engagement rates. In a digital ecosystem where follower counts can dictate income, posting your boyfriend is a business risk.