This is so relatable

Almost every Tuesday, when I eat dinner or in bed before I go to sleep, I open YouTube to watch a new video uploaded by my favorite creator. It strikes me that I have been undergoing this ritual for over four years now! Sometimes, it almost feels like hanging out with a friend, except she is the only one talking. Shayna, known on the internet as The Purple Palace, became very important to me a few years back when I was still in high school. At the time, I was slowly preparing for my final exams and figuring out where to direct my life afterward. I was dreaming of leaving my hometown, going to art school, and finally being able to do what I liked. She was confident, a little bit crazy, wore the coolest clothes, and studied fine arts in Paris. She was everything I wanted to become. I started obsessively watching her vlogs, some of which I must have seen multiple times. I was immensely inspired, and looking back, I realize that because of all the encouraging messages and stories Shayna shared in her videos, she was definitely one of the major factors that pushed me to chase my dreams. I found comfort in listening to someone who shared similar experiences and achieved all their goals. It made me feel like I could do it, too. And I did. 

On Being Understood

The Internet is a place that enables us to connect with people who face similar obstacles on their path. It can create a sense of community and make us feel less alone with our struggles even though we don’t know the content creators personally. I talked about how YouTube videos impacted me in that way, but the form of such relatable content might be way less elaborate. Sometimes, seeing a simple image that perfectly describes our situation is enough. As Instagram is probably my most used app, I started noticing a certain trend among memes on my feed. These posts usually consist of a white background with a stock image of something, for instance, an animal or a fruit, and a short text (sometimes just one word). They are, therefore, very minimalistic and most often comment on various experiences of girlhood, like navigating relationships, ovulating, devoting oneself to simple pleasures, or spirituality.

The trend was started by a girl known online as Sotce, whom I have been following for a couple of years now, and was quickly picked up by others who began to use a similar form of images to share their reflections. If we look at the comments under her posts, it becomes clear that she discovered an original way of capturing universal experiences as so many users relate to them. Some of their responses read: “sotce..i love you”, “I love your perception of life and being human”, “beautifully expressed”, “sotce you get me”.

“Downfall of Sotce” 

Because of how she describes her experiences, Sotce became a guru for many people. She has a Patreon site where her followers can ask questions and receive advice. She openly talks about being a Buddhist and wishes to share her spiritual wisdom with others. I find it refreshing to access this type of content online, and I think it’s amazing that she created such a platform and community. However, it seems like people tend to forget that Sotce is just an online persona and that they do not truly know her. When you find a content creator who produces work that highly resonates with you, it is easy to begin feeling bonded with them. We can fall into the trap of projecting our imagined vision of that person onto them, but that vision is only based on what we see online, what the creator intentionally picks to show us. A while ago, Sotce posted a picture of herself wearing an Apple Vision Pro headset, and many of her followers found that disappointing as it does not suit the minimalistic lifestyle she was showing online before.

But is it fair to accuse someone of not being genuine if we never really knew them? It is important to remember that everything we see online should be taken with a pinch of salt. We have to be able to distance ourselves from the influencers we follow, no matter how relatable the content they produce. We can take from it what we connect with, but no one owes us anything, and we cannot demand anyone to suit our expectations.