In the European summer of 2023, I started an experiment on social media. For approximately 6 months, I posted various content on both platforms Instagram and WhatsApp. My goal was to just immerse myself in this experience and see what comes out of it. I didn’t have any expectations whatsoever. I didn’t have a plan either but my focus was on Instagram stories and WhatsApp updates. The time frame was the only clear setting and It ended yesterday with the start of 2024.

I recognise that my endeavor was highly subjective, and there are likely plenty of scientific studies (and less scientific) accounts on this subject. It would be intriguing to delve deeper into this topic with a well-defined structure and consistent method, starting with serious research to build a preliminary understanding about the subject. Regardless, it was an enlightening experience full of unexpected results. Below I share some insights from this journey:

Women
This space seems to be dominated by female users, both in terms of audience and content creation. A male friend suggested this might be because women are attention seekers. A female online influencer believes women are in desperate need for reassurance in a dangerous world, seeking out validation and safety even through digital channels. I have also read other suggestions for the rather frequent posting on social media such as self-expression, peer-bonding and identity building. I have no idea about human psychology nor can I verify whether these assumptions have any scientific basis. However, my subjective observation does indicates that women are more active in this space in terms of sharing personal information and life experiences.

Connection and transparency
I experienced a stronger connection with family members back home. Through my posts, they could see what I am up to, what I am doing and how I am driving my life (one cannot really send pictures all the time to the 5 different family groups we have). This transparency seems to align with broader societal changes toward openness that we have been experiencing in the world. It seems we are moving towards more transparency at multiple levels. Things are being revealed and people care less about opening their lives to strangers. On Instagram, it was easy to track which family members viewed my posts. On WhatsApp, however, it was not possible. I activated the read receipts to have a better understanding of my audience but this functionality works only if the counterpart also has the read receipts active. Therefore, my understanding of audience engagement on WhatsApp remained quite limited.

Old friendships
A highlight of the journey was reconnecting with old friends. I could rekindle some old connections with people that were part of my life at some point. People sent me a like or a heart on Instagram or WhatsApp and I started some conversations. This was perhaps the most satisfying part of the journey. While It meant a time investment to write back to them and not everyone sustained a long conversation with me, the opportunity for sporadic communication with people I hold dear was gratifying.

Final insights
1. Time: Although the experience was enlightening, it is time consuming and I cannot see myself taking further steps on this journey with such intensity. I just need time for other things and I can’t see how so many people keep posting everything about everything. In other words, I’m glad the experiment is over.
2. intensity: Talking about intensity, I did observe myself becoming more active and engaging more on social media, especially in terms of talking and writing on the chat. Sometimes I would just write a lot and I kept experiencing this intensity within me. However, this has a lot do with my personal circumstances in 2023 and I am glad to go back to the “real world”.
3. Authenticity: I felt a contradiction when thinking about authenticity. At many points of the journey, I posted whatever came to my mind. I posted content about this blog, spirituality, comedy, sustainability or my general life experience, among others. However, the setting felt as a stage and I started to experience a sort of a need to address the audience with additional content. I didn’t feel pressure to post any topic in particular, but rather the need to continue posting and thinking what could be the next thing.
4. Comments: The best and funniest part of the journey was people replying to my posts or even telling me during real-life situations, even at work, how “funny” or “interesting” they find my posts. A friend told me “Andres, you’ve been posting so much lately”. Well, an experiment wouldn’t be an experiment if you tell people about it and now I can finally tell 🙂