The spirit of Christmas is about showing your love and appreciation to your family and friends, not creating performative content about it for social media.
I have seen firsthand what genuine holiday excitement looks like because Christmas has been a celebratory staple in my family for decades.
I don’t doubt that families all over the world still enjoy and celebrate Christmas as mine does, but I have seen an influx of influencers take videos of themselves and children rather than being in the moment with their loved ones.
If someone is scrolling on Instagram during the months of November through December, they will likely see more posts from influencers creating content in front of Christmas lights and attractions rather than classic family holiday photos.
To me, this is an example of a selfish act because the people doing this aren’t thinking about who they’re with or even who will see the content, they are focused on themselves.
During my yearly tradition of visiting Grapevine during December, I have witnessed people filming themselves talking for content or their kids participating in festivities instead of actually living in the moment.
It’s sad to witness this with my own eyes after being so used to watching it play out on social media annually. Seeing it existing in real life is very telling of where society is going, social media-wise.
It’s one thing to build a persona for show, but for it to consume someone’s day-to-day livelihood is concerning to say the least.
I have been guilty of taking pictures for social media in the past, and I know it’s a fun thing to do during the holidays. That being said, it’s getting more and more obvious that going to these attractions and events is just a ploy for people to get likes and attention on their posts.
I wish that the new generations growing up now could experience holiday events without photos and videos being taken for disingenuous reasons, as I did as a young child.
Being raised in the early 2000s, cameraphones did exist, but visiting a holiday pop-up was not for the sole purpose of making a post on social media. It was to make good memories.
It is very popular among TikTok influencers to exploit their children’s lives, specifically any holiday event or birthday. Thankfully, I had the privilege of having parents that didn’t prioritize social media over memories, as do many influential parents on social media these days.
I appreciate the evolution of technology allowing society to document cherished memories. Unfortunately, all this has done is open an uncloseable door to exploitation and overconsumption among people all over the world.
The more people get used to depending on their cellphones for serotonin, the worse the performative acts will get.
However, I still enjoy Christmas and look forward to it every year. It is my favorite holiday aside from Halloween, and it gives me different things to look forward to every December.
With the rising popularity of people posting their everyday life routines, I can infer that in the future the trend of showcasing holiday moments on social media will only worsen.
I hope that one day society can circle back to its original compassion and curiosity of the word aside from social media. There is more to living life than experiencing life through the lens of a cellphone.
