I saw this photo on fashion blogger Aimee Song’s Instagram today (https://www.instagram.com/p/BTT4nGHDMe0/) and it immediately put me in summer vacation, wanderlust mode. I think it’s interesting how Instagram has turned the act of taking covetable lifestyle photos like this one into a marketable skill for an entire generation. There are now countless social medialites, including those in my peer group, who spend a significant amount of time marketing themselves on Instagram, not for professional reasons, but for personal and social ones. Overall, I think that Instagram provides a great platform for self expression through the creative act of taking and editing photos. However, sometimes it can feel overwhelming to keep up with one’s peers in showing whose life is the coolest or who can come up with the wittiest subtitles. Regardless, this photo (and Aimee Song’s Instagram in general) is desirable not only because of its aesthetics, but because of the meaning and emotions it conveys to viewers — yes, about luxury and wealth — but mostly about a sense of freedom and empowerment.
