Twitter had better watch out: Instagram is catching up to Japan’s favorite social media. Since 2016 the photo-sharing app has climbed from 12 million users to a massive 26 million as of July 2019 and it’s now ranked as the second most-used social media platform in the country, even beating its owner Facebook.
It’s not hard to see why Instagram is so popular here. Not only is Japan the nation of all things kawaii it’s also home to world-class scenery and is a well-documented food paradise. In the motherland of Nikon, Canon, and Fujifilm, it’s actually kind of surprising that it didn’t come up with the app in the first place!
The bad news: Instagram is the worst social media for our health
As photogenic as Japan can be, Instagram here is just as afflicted by the same false embellishment that’s been damaging this generations’ mental health. Unrealistic portrayals of real-life can warp expectations and has created an epidemic of insecurity, low self-esteem, and anxiety-inducing FOMO.
That’s why it’s always super refreshing when we get to see an Instagrammer showing the truth of what goes on behind the scenes.
Pigeon of Prey
On Instagram, ViennaDoLL offers the typical polished feed of a successful influencer, with great posing, on-point outfits and an eye for finding the right background.
On Twitter, though, Vienna gets real with her followers, showing the dirty and sometimes dangerous work that goes into her oh-so-perfect posts.
Her series of side by side “Insta VS Reality” pictures is a hilarious example of the gap between what we see on Insta and what we actually experience in everyday life.
Sometimes this includes being attacked by a bird.
インスタ映えの理想 VS 現実。 pic.twitter.com/TaiRwVvP69
— ヴィエンナ (@ViennaDoLL) July 20, 2019
インスタ映えの理想VS 現実。= Instagram VS reality
Or being caught off guard by cold seawater.
波に打たれた時の理想 VS 現実。 pic.twitter.com/0OHKtx9rmK
— ヴィエンナ (@ViennaDoLL) July 6, 2019
波に打たれた時の理想 VS 現実。= Ideal VS Reality when struck by a wave
Or enjoying food a little bit too much…
好きな人の前でパスタ VS 仲良いやつの前でパスタ。 pic.twitter.com/iGHUEarXGk
— ヴィエンナ (@ViennaDoLL) July 13, 2019
好きな人の前でパスタ VS 仲良いやつの前でパスタ。= Eating pasta in front of the person you like VS with a close friend.
One Twitter user was more impressed with what was going on in the background of the photo. Specifically, a pigeon looking like he was on military parade before the attack:
https://twitter.com/rinaK_0531/status/1152566800564944897
現実の顔も好きだけどここ好きすぎて吹きそうになりましたw = I like the IRL face but this part makes me laugh so hard I was about to explode lol
Using the Japanese suffix そう
Used in various key expressions in Japanese, the suffix そう has a few nuanced meanings and is often tricky to use correctly. Roughly, it can be translated to:
- “looks like” or “seems like”
- “about to” or “going to”
- “I heard”
In the expression Verb + そう + になる, there’s the idea something was about to happen but eventually didn’t. You could translate the structure by “close to [being].”
吹きそうになりました = I was about to explode (with laughter)
Vocabulary
Japanese | Romaji | English |
インスタ映え | insutabae | Instagrammable |
理想 | risou | ideal |
現実 | genjitsu | reality |
波 | nami | wave |
打たれる | utareru | to be hit (by) |
時 | toki | when |
好き | suki | like |
人 | hito | person |
前に | mae ni | in front of |
パスタ |
pasuta | pasta |
仲良い | nakayoi | get along with |
やつ | yatsu | that guy, fella, bloke |
顔 | kao | face |
も | mo | too |
けど | kedo | but |
吹く | fuku | blow up, explode, burst (into laughter) |
For more on learning Japanese
- Learn Japanese with our original study materials on GaijinPot Study
- Questions about studying Japanese in Japan? Take a look at the Japan 101 section on Higher Education and Studying Japanese
- Join our GaijinPot Study Facebook group to connect with fellow learners
- Learn more about the GaijinPot Study Placement Program
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