3-piece pop band, Paperplane Pursuit’s latest single was recently released and it is called Internet Celebrity. More than just a catchy tune, the song actually relays 8 ugly truths about millennials these days. In a society filled with fake lifestyles, the Malaysian band points out what we all don’t want to hear but know oh so well.
1. We’re obsessed with being famous on social media.
“What would you like to be when you grow up?
I wanna be internet famous!”
We live in a day and age where the number of likes on our Instagram pic is what validates our self worth. Yes, our day job might be an auditor, engineer or doctor. But on Instagram, we can become an influencer and a trendsetter, almost as if we’re leading a double life. It gives us a sense of high, knowing that we’re making an impact, even if it’s just on the Internet.
2. We definitely didn’t wake up looking like this.
“Good morning,
I woke up like this,
Well after makeup,
And like a hundred pics”
Whether it’s makeup or an expensive outfit, the underlying message is that we certainly didn’t wake up looking like this, although we’d like others to believe so. We’d go to great lengths to project the best version of ourselves to the world because the better we look, the more we’re adored. It’s a sick cycle that repeats itself where we’d end up as “slaves” to our social media accounts.
3. Want my opinions? Check my Facebook updates.
“So savvy.
Bout the news this week,
How can you say I don’t care,
What about those links I share”
Welcome to a life where sharing a piece of news on social media signifies our stand on something whether it’s politics, entertainment or sports. We think that doing so keeps us opinionated and up-to-date with current happenings, and that we “care” about what’s going on around us. Sometimes we don’t even know the details of a particular news, or we don’t even spare time to properly read the articles on Facebook, but we share them anyway with a shallow caption like “Totally agree”.
4. See this lavish lifestyle? Yep, it’s fake.
“Long vacations overseas,
Shiny things and shopping sprees,
My life’s like your fantasy”
It goes without saying that whatever we own, we flaunt, whether its a brand new gadget, expensive jewelry or even our 10-day vacation in Ibiza. It’s all a facade that we keep up because it’s our own way of saying, “Hey, my life’s better than yours.” Now give me your likes.
5. Nothing about us is original anymore.
“Let me take a selfie,
Caption oh so deep,
Lyrics maybe,
Or some quote I’ll steal”
Ever scrolled through social media and coming across a picture with a quote that doesn’t match the pic? Well, it’s common nowadays to have a deep quote with a beautiful picture. Perhaps it is done to feign intelligence. Perhaps it’s to add some “class” to our pics and appear like the sophisticated person we’d like to be. Most times though, all we’d garner is snickers behind our back. “Look at that quote she’s posting, does she even know what that word means?”
6. FOMO is a huge problem in society.
“My friends we’re hanging,
Instead of being home alone,
Such fun we’re having,
Staring at our phones”
The fear of missing out (FOMO) is a huge problem in society nowadays, so much so we’d rather say that we’re going to a party just to keep up appearances than to spend a night alone by ourselves.
Here’s a pic of me partying at Zouk, here’s my posse of cool, good looking friends.
It’s become all too common to live our lives out loud on social media when in reality, what we’re doing is staring at out phones without so much as a word.
7. We’re only validated by the number of likes on our Instapics.
“Everybody please love me,
Say I’m what you wanna see,
Cure my insecurity”
We’ve been there before. Refreshing our Instagram page to see the likes rack up, 1 by 1. Call us pretentious or obsessive but it’s the only way we can feel secure nowadays. Armed with a couple of hundreds of red hearts on Instagram, we march into the world with a cloak of confidence that was never there before.
8. Make me viral. I’ll do anything.
“There’s no limit to how low we should stoop,
No line we should not cross,
As long as we go viral.”
Social media captures the number of views a certain video gets, whether it’s on YouTube, Facebook or Instagram. Ever felt like a loser when your video only gets a 100 views when your friend count is 3x that? Well, we’ve all been there before and the worst part about likes and views is that it’s all displayed for everyone to see, for everyone to laugh at, and worst of all: for everyone to judge.
It’s awesome to see how Paperplane Pursuit is pointing out a major flaw in our society in the form of a catchy tune. Discover KL readers, do you agree with our breakdown of Internet Celebrity? Let us know what are your thoughts in the Facebook comment section!
Feature Image Credit: Paperplane Pursuit
