Thursday, October 1, 2015

Keeping Up Appearances: Attempting to Live Up to Social Media Standards



"This is the Bouquet residence, lady of the house speaking!" (Anyone?!) From 1990 to 1995 BBC produced a television show featuring Hyacinth Bucket (who insists her last name is pronounced Bouquet, not Bucket), described by IMDb as "a snobbish housewife [who] is determined to climb the social ladder in spite of her family's working class connections and the constant chagrin of her long suffering husband." We watched this show as a family growing up. I was just old enough to think some of it was funny, but I didn't get all of it. It's funny now though! 

Can you imagine what Hyacinth's Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest accounts would look like?! It would be all perfect pictures with perfect captions because she wants you to think she lives a high class perfect life. 

We all know a Hyacinth, or we've seen "perfect" people with perfectly put together lives on the internet. All too often we end up comparing ourselves to the perfect cute little lunches with sandwiches cut in the shape of fish, or the party decor that is all homemade and just adorable, or the seemingly endless perfect outfits coming out of "her" closet, and feeling bad. 

Now, none of those are bad things at all. But the comparison is bad. It's easy to look at that one piece of "perfection" and compare our entire lives to it. What you see on social media isn't 100% real life. It's a highlight reel. It's just the best of the best. 

Would you hire a wedding photographer who only posted up their shots that didn't work? Nope! So they post their best. Would you be likely to make a recipe if they showed you only one picture of the beautiful finished product and then a series of pictures of the incredible mess their kitchen is in now and how long it took them to scrub that pan? Nope! 

This is where the Keeping Up Appearances project was born. Emilee had the brilliant idea for her and I to take a week where we tried to live the perfect Facebook/Instagram/Pinterest worthy lives. Not because we think we can do it and showing it's possible. Just the opposite. Because we want to show what trying to live up Social Media Standards looks like. And we're expecting it to look like insanity

We decided to set some parameters for us so that we had similar things going on but each tailored to our real lives. Here were the requirements:
  • Three Pinterest inspired outfits during the week, picked out the night before, layed out, and photo documented, OOTD status.
  • Three brand spankin' new recipes, documented and using at least one ingredient we have never used before. 
  • Two beauty pins that we haven't used before. 
  • Use two healthful pins for "better living" that does something out of your usual routine. 
  • One or two cleaning tips used in real life. 
  • Two DIY projects during the week. 
  • Date night pin. 
  • Three "life enhancing" pins used during the week. 
  • One or two parenting or pet pins that seem helpful to routines or entertainment.
  • Squat Challenge
  • 8-10 cups of water a day
Reading that list, it didn't sound too bad. But the more we got planning and collecting the pins for this, the more we realized that maybe we bit off more than we could chew. But, we were committed.

We each spent a week trying to make our lives match up to what we saw online just to show how crazy of an ideal it is, and over the next 7 days we'll show you what we tried, what we did, and how it all went. Check back in each day over the next week as we give you a day-by-day of what attempting to live a "perfect" week looks like...in real life. Heh heh. Update! Now that the series is over, here are links to each of our daily postings from the Keeping Up Appearnaces Project:
Emilee:


Marquette:



16 comments:

  1. I do love that show. You've taken on quite a challenge! I try every now and then to make my social media fancy and usually give up the same day

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  2. Wow, y'all are very ambitious! Living a Pinterest life is DIFFICULT. I can't wait to see how this goes:) So glad that Pinstrosity is back!!
    xoxo
    Grace Anne // http://totallygraced.blogspot.com

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  3. I have a good friend...she's super sweet...who posts pics of her perfect life. It has made me feel really bad about myself and stuff though. My husband keeps telling me that it can't all be as perfect as she portrays but it sure seems that way.

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    1. This is exactly why we wanted to do this! Perfection on social media is a carefully crafted illusion. We all feel the pressure from those posts.

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  4. Oh I am so looking forward to how things went! It is so important to not compare our lives and ourselves to the perfect version of themselves that people put online. I struggled with that for a while, but now I am free of comparison...for the most part lol

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    1. It's true! We just have to be our best selves! Thanks for coming by! We are happy to have you!

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  5. Oh, you just came back and already set yourselves up for a lot of Pinstrosities! There were articles about this phenomenon and how it affects self-esteem and induces depression. I wish you all the luck, but be prepared for major disappointments!

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    1. We've read those too! It's really a crazy lifestyle to try and keep up appearances constantly (which is why we only did this experiment for a week). We learned a lot of interesting things and we're excited to share them with you over the next week!

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  6. Speaking of appearances, how about your studly husbands, huh? Oh boy, it must feel like a pinterest perfect life to have those "appearances"around your house, huh?

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    1. Yeah, we're lucky girls, what can we say. Lol, you're a goober sweetheart.

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    2. Bahahaha hahaha Cameron you made my day with thay comment

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    3. Bahahaha hahaha Cameron you made my day with thay comment

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  7. I've been MIA from blog-reading lately, so I don't know when you changed the look of your site, but I am IN LOVE. That is all. <3

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    1. Hi Sarah! The changes only happened yesterday, so you came back at just the right time. Welcome back! I'm so glad you love it, because so do we!!

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  8. I'm in a rut so deep it's nor even funny. I think I am going to try this experiment.
    I have been reading your entries and they are hilarious.
    Keep it up.

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    1. Thanks Julia! It definitely worked to help me get moving on new recipes and fall crafts, but it was absolutely insane as well and was way more emotional than I thought it would be (more on that in the wrap up post at the end of the series in a few days). It sure taught me a lot and I'm glad we did it though.

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