Smiiiiile :)

A photo is worth a 1,000 emotions.

The GOODS
The GOODS
Aug 9, 2017 · 2 min read

What if Instagram was real?

Seriously. Think about it.

What if the social media app was a reflection of someone else’s actual life?

Let’s be honest with ourselves for a quick sec.

Instagram is escapism and — whether it’s obvious or not — the countless hours we’ve spent on social media end up harming our self worth, our confidence, and our mental health.

Plus, who knows how many fake and staged IG accounts you’re following at this very minute.

The truth is out there

It’s in a book.

A good old fashioned, physical book with pictures. Yay. And a few words, of course.

Published in 2010 by Brandon Stanton (a photojournalist), the book, Humans of New York (HONY), is a beautiful collection of hundreds of street portraits of real people living in NYC.

(Okay, maybe we’re seven years late to the “Humans of” game, but hey, better late than never 😜)

All about dem feels

The most amazing thing about reading the stories and seeing the faces of complete strangers is the amazing sense of realness and connectedness you get as a reader to the subjects.

Sometimes, their stories make you feel like smiling. Other times, their stories make you feel a little sad inside.

The book beautifully showcases strangers’ vulnerability as they reveal the raw honesty behind the secrets of their lives — a refreshing change from the “picture perfect” realm of social media à la Instagram.

HONY is feel-good because it reminds you of the reality that, although your life may not be perfect, neither is anyone’s. We’re all fighting similar battles.

We’re all building our own walls of life.

Forget scrolling

This book is a timeless classic, and a real page flipper.

There’s also something special about holding a heavy book in your hands as opposed to thumb scrolling through #hardtoreadhashtags.

Bottom line — who needs Instagram when you’ve got the real world made up of real people all around you. Strangers are friends you haven’t met yet ;)

Stanton has since expanded beyond the concrete jungle where dreams are made of as he’s been busy travelling the world capturing more photos of more real people (and upkeeping a kickass FB page).

And thank goodness for that, because the Insta life of hot dog vs legs really wasn’t cutting it for us anymore.

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The GOODS

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The GOODS

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