Jade Kelaher
The Mundane
Chronicles of Daily Lives
Social media is creating an idealistic culture which is adversely affecting today's generation of young adults. The anxiety, pressure, stress, and low self-esteem that young people suffer by comparing their own lives to the highly edited version of others — their digital role models whose images are both unrealistic and unattainable — is of growing concern. This project explores the concept of filtered idealism in contrast to everyday life. In the form of a series of newsprint publications, this project aims to bring awareness to these issues, while normalizing the mundane — and very normal — elements of daily life that we all experience.
The Mundane takes a look at the idea of everyday life versus filtered idealism. The current generation of young adults have found themselves to be so caught up in how their public image is portrayed through their social media profiles, and how other people will perceive them, that they have lost touch with the reality of what is actually going on in their day-to-day lives. Making sure to post some glorified aspect of your day through a heavily edited and filtered approach has almost become more important to many than experiencing their day through their own eyes and truly making the most of it.
In a series of seven newspapers, each representing a different day of the week, this project explores a new character with each publication and narrates their honest experiences of daily life.
Mundane tasks we carry out every day are often forgotten or brushed off. It is important to take the time to acknowledge the finer details of your daily life and physical surroundings. Taking time away from social media and the constant comparisons to fake standards we submit ourselves to, can allow the mind to reset its perceptions of idealism. I hope to inspire my audience to harvest a healthier and more sustainable relationship with both the perception of themselves and their digital habits.
