From post-sex selfies to elaborate couple photo ops, we’re discussing the trendy online posts that people can’t seem to get enough of.
I’m sure this is a familiar scenario…
You’re browsing online and you see a nice photo posted by a minor internet celebrity. It could be a selfie with a unique post or a different take on an otherwise bland Instagram post. You give it a “like” and move on.
Later on, you start to see other people giving these trends a try. Even those who might not be too big on posting online are starting to give in to the trend. Before you know it, your entire newsfeed is filled with that one particular kind of post. Everyone’s using the trending hashtag, everyone’s using the same filter, heck, everyone’s using the same pose, regardless of whether it suits them.
What’s the hype all about?
To each their own, sure. But there are just some trending online posts that are completely boggling or downright unnecessary. Curious to know what they are? Here are some examples.
#1 After-sex selfies. Please, spare us! I have always hated when couples go on their honeymoon and upload tons of pictures of their suite with flower petals scattered all around, basically showing us where they, in fact, had or will have sex. Isn’t less more? I personally don’t need to see a plethora of photos like that, and one trend that needs to stop immediately is the trend of people taking after-sex selfies together.
Seeing a couple laying in bed with messy hair, or eye makeup that is clearly leftover from the night before only screams the whole “we just had sex” mentality and it’s a photo op that the general population doesn’t really care, or want to see. I think I speak for everyone else when I say it’s one time when we would rather see a photo of honeymoon suites with flower petals.
#2 Trying-too-hard couple photo ops. Do you have any friends or know any couples that refer to themselves in third person or have nicknames for each other, or more so, for them as a couple. Unfortunately, I do. I know plenty. It’s a trend I’m seeing more and more.
For example, this one couple I know refer to themselves as the “dream team” and every photo they post has #dreamteam. They are not a dream team. No one is dreaming day in and day out about how they wish they could be so cool. Reality check, this trend is not cool. Another couple I know always refers to themselves as hippies, and hash tags all their photos #bohemian or #hippies or #wanderlustandinlove. I’m pretty sure in the 70s that hippies didn’t walk around telling everyone they were hippies. People just kind of knew, you know.
I know the whole saying “fake it till you make it” might be something that some people somewhere actually live by, but hash tagging any photos of you and your guy that reference you both in third person is just lame. Beyoncé and Jay-Z don’t do that. When you’ve made it, you don’t have to. Take a hint.
#3 First-date selfies. First dates are a blast, when they actually turn out the way you always want them and imagined them to. It’s great when you really hit it off with someone and think you will probably see him or her again, and again. But the key element to remember here is that it is a first date, which means it’s the first time you have been out in public or met this person. It’s nice to tell people you were out on a great first date, but why not just save that info for your close friends?
Also, why announce to the whole world that you were on a date with someone so soon? What if he turns out to be a creep or a stage-five clinger? And if you’re notorious for doing this on your first date, you put Taylor Swift to shame by announcing to the whole world that you found a great guy, only to never mention him again after a couple of days. [Read: 14 dos and don’ts of adding your date on Facebook]
#4 Kissing photos. I love love and being in love and seeing people in love just as much as Nicholas Sparks loves writing about it. What I don’t love is seeing a couple post photos of themselves making out. If you’re kissing your boyfriend or girlfriend, and holding your cellphone with one hand, trying to take a picture, well, what you might think is sexy, comes across to us peasants as disgusting and just a bad photo. Just focus on kissing!
#5 Fake candids. This one annoys me because the couples that do this are always setting themselves up for failure. This is when someone posts a “candid” photo of their girl or guy, with a caption along the lines of “sexiest man in the world” or “eat your heart out” or “how hot is my man.”
It doesn’t matter if your friends think your guy is a sexy beast or not, because either way, they aren’t going to comment on your photo for the entire social media world to see. How weird would it be if your friend wrote on your photo something like “yeah, your man is super sexy!” That would be uncomfortable.
#6 Pre-meeting photo post. Out of all the trends, this one probably wigs me out the most. I recently saw a girlfriend of mine post a photo of a guy on her instagram account. At first I thought he must be her new boyfriend, and good for her. Then I actually clicked on the picture to see the caption that said something about how she was so excited to be going on a date with this guy, which meant she had not actually even hung out with him or met him.
#7 Faking engagements. This trend is as wonderful as the sound of nails on a chalkboard. If you have ever had a friend upload a photo of her and her boyfriend with a caption about how they are engaged, even though they have been dating for a hot minute, and only to eventually have them post another status or photo about how they were just kidding and they aren’t really engaged, then you are not alone. My eyes have unfortunately been privy to this terrible trend as well.
I don’t care who you are, how in love you might be, or however many times he has assured you he wants to marry you, do NOT post fake engagement photos of you and your man until you are actually engaged. It makes you look naïve, and also makes people take you less seriously. When the time comes that you are actually engaged, don’t you want people to know you’re totally serious instead of questioning if this time you’re for real?
#8 The immediately-after-the-baby-comes-out photo op. Giving birth is a beautiful thing. There is nothing more incredible than knowing you are the reason for a beautiful little miracle. Long before technology and instantly sharing every minute of our lives, people gave birth and did so without turning it into a photo session.
I don’t mean that people shouldn’t have photos taken of their new little family, but what couples should not do is take photos of themselves and their baby the nanosecond it comes out of the womb. Shame on any of those out there that do! You shouldn’t be worried about taking selfies, and instead you should be savoring every minute with your new baby girl or boy.
#9 The not-so-subtle posts. We’ve all probably thought at one point or another how being famous might be incredible, but it would also be annoying, because everyone would always want to know what’s going on in your life. Especially your love life.
This “trend” goes along the same lines as #6 above, except it’s different, because you actually have gone on more than one date with the guy or girl, and now you two are hanging out, but for some reason you have not claimed them or made anything official.
What you have made, though, are some photos that you post with captions that say things like “he’s such a cutie” or “making dinner tonight for him” but what’s really annoying about these posts is that only YOU know who “him” or “he” is. This just screams “begging to be interrogated by people who are interested in your life,” and the number may be closer to zero than you think.
[Read: 16 signs of a real attention whore]
It’s okay to post photos from time to time, but always keep in mind that just because it’s trendy, doesn’t make it classy. One trend that will never go out of style though is true love. True love is always trendy, so wear it proudly!