Social media: transforming from personal scrapbooks to curated perfection

NOT too long ago, social media felt like a digital scrapbook of our lives.

- VUYILE MADWANTSI

We posted blurry photos of family gatherings, messy selfies with friends and random musings about our day.Our feeds were imperfect, personal, and full of life. I still remember the comments from friends, questions about my day, jokes, or heartfelt reactions to a silly photo.

Social media felt warm and connected, a reflection of who we really were.

But now? The feeds look different. Polished. Staged. Curated. They're like glossy magazines full of perfect vacations, aesthetic coffee cups, and glowing sunsets.

Everyone seems to be selling something, even if it’s just the idea of themselves. And somewhere along the way, the raw, unfiltered connections we once shared quietly disappeared.

How did we go from sharing our messy, beautiful lives to retreating into silence or posting only calculated perfection?

The shift didn’t happen overnight. It started subtly, with small choices. First, we began picking only the best photos. Then came filters, carefully planned captions, and even photoshoots specifically for Instagram. Social media, once a space for connection, turned into a stage.

As platforms like Instagram and TikTok evolved, they introduced features designed for performance stories, reels, editing tools and algorithm-driven feeds.