Wednesday, November 7, 2012

#NoFilter: My So-Called Unretouched Life



Sometimes, I feel like I'm the only girl I know without an iPhone. The perpetually frustrated chick at the concert whose mobile isn't qualified to take a respectable picture of the hot lead singer. The social outcast at the restaurant who can't get her meal to look appetizing from the lens of her CrackBlackBerry Storm. The oddball millennial who doesn't own a single app to distract herself with while sitting in traffic. First World problems can be devastating.

You see, without an iPhone or a very similar device, there can be no Instagram. And without the intent to Instagram, why even bother taking that unworthy snapshot? Posting a picture without a filter is social media suicide. Didn't you know? Photographs without filters are illegal on the better sectors of the web. Pictures lacking a faux vintage hue are being shunned from the Twitterverse. Under penalty of law, natural pictures are banished to a dark, lonely realm of the internet, otherwise known as MySpace. Facebook is also becoming more progressive as it, too, is trying to abolish pictures that keep it real.

Filters have the power to transform a grey sky to blue, an unattractive girl into a model and your cat into a mythical being. It’s no surprise that it’s so popular. Who wouldn’t want to project the false image of having things in their life better than what they truly are? It’s only American.

Despite having skin as white as snow and a penchant for virtually talking to the birds, I have yet to take a sizable bite out of the poison Apple. My laptop is a PC. I lost my iPod somewhere inside my house years ago but didn't bother to find it. I buy records at the thrift store and at Christmas time, I turned down the suggestion of an iPad as a gift (I'd rather have the cash). I'm sure there's a bevy of other cool Mac products that my life is lacking but I don't care enough to find out what they are. I just haven't joined the tech cult. The thought of waiting in line every few months for the latest release that is unmistakably the same as its predecessor is laughable. I'll stick with the dwarfs and their modest approach to living- at least for the short term (pun intended).

Conversely, I've actually had a touch screen smart phone since approximately 2004; well ahead of anyone else I knew. Wherein my technology growth stunt lies, is that I get complacent. In the twelve years that I've owned a cell phone, I've only had four. Change usually doesn't go over well with me. Being adaptable is particularly difficult when you seem to have signed your cellular contract in blood. That's secretly what the red check mark on the Verizon logo symbolizes.

While I may not be the most modern girl on the net, I am learning the lingo. #NoFilter will eventually be a hash tag that I can use without a sarcastic undertone. By my estimates, when I finally do get an iPhone (sometime in the very near future, hopefully), Instagram will likely be obsolete. In its wake, all hipsters will be using the latest platform. This time around, I won't be left behind. I'm following the overexposed light. If you'd like to follow me, I'm @KristaRoman. I can't promise anything worthy of a RT.

















Now Playing: "Nothin' But Time" by Cat Power

No comments:

Post a Comment

Blog Archive

My photo
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
I'm living life in beautiful Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I hold a journalism degree from West Virginia University. I have worked in television news, fashion marketing, PR, and cosmetic sales. My love for writing and sharing with the world my various passions is strong. One of my many ambitions is to be published and continue creating in the fields of digital and print media, literature and film. In my free time, I enjoy listening to music, going to concerts, reading, following Pittsburgh sports and traveling as often as possible. Some of my favorite things include beauty, style, architecture, books, tarot and astrology, thrifting and my shih-tzu, Ireland. I’m engaged to the love of my lifetimes and we look forward to starting our next chapter together. If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you!