Having dabbled in more than 150 careers, Barbie is oh-so millennial when it comes to job-hopping. Now, after decades of teaching aerobics, going to the moon, and even unsuccessfully running for president, Barbie is on the road seeking a quieter, more introspective #PNWlife. Or rather, Socality Barbie is.
Started by an anonymous Portland wedding photographer, Socality Barbie is an Instagram account satirizing the curatorial artifice masquerading as spur-of-the-moment authenticity that's become a signature style on the photo-sharing platform.
"People were all taking the same pictures in the same places and using the same captions," the photographer told Wired. "I couldn’t tell any of their pictures apart, so I thought, What better way to make my point than with a mass-produced doll?"
Outfitted in Warby Parker-style frames, beanie, and Herschel backpack, Socality Barbie nails every Insta photo and hashtag that's ever stoked our lifestyle envy.
Strategically positioned coffee mugs and reading material: check.
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Artfully arranged travel items: check.
Perfectly styled outdoor moment: check.
Magazine-worthy beach moment: check.
In short, the Instagram account makes plain what we all secretly know: Social media authenticity is rarely genuine.
With Socality Barbie sweeping the internet, one wonders why the creative brain behind it would wish to remained unnamed. Keeping in line with the faux individualism-busting gist of the project, it's meant to keep Socality Barbie as real-feeling as possible. Nonetheless, with all of the press coverage SoBar has attracted, photog and doll alike must be feeling undeniably #blessed.