ELISABETH SMOLARZ

DO YOU EVER WATCH YOUR OWN INSTAGRAM STORIES
AND GET JEALOUS OF YOURSELF?

2022, Video (06:58)

Do you ever watch your own instagram stories and get jealous of yourself? (2022) is a video exploring social media's commodification of the social contract and the utilization of envy and jealousy as the foundation of user engagement. Working with two influencers, I explore how the language of photography is used as a neoliberal tool and how content production and consumption facilitate a multi-million dollar data collection industry. The video weaves snapshots of influencer "Murs" instructing us on how to be an influencer, and "Walesca," performing a manifesto of ethics for future influencers (for an Instagram story,) along with disembodied AI-generated voices reciting a text explaining the emotions of envy jealously in the context of social media engagement, resulting in a cumulative reflection on how social media's promise to connect the world has backfired into self-perpetuating echo chambers where every user's action is monetized.