Glue sticks to GIFs: How social media became our digital scrapbooks

From glitter and glue to pixels and likes, social media has turned scrapbooking into a digital task. In this article, we explore the fun and challenges of the same.

Scrapbooking, as a child, used to mean piles of paper, glue, colours, glitter, and a lot of creativity. Now, for better or for worse, it has gone high-tech! Social media platforms have become our new scrapbooks, capturing everything from daily moments to major life events. In our scrapbooks, we would glue photos, keep gift and chocolate wrappers, and save love letters. Now we capture those and put the pictures and words on Tumblr, Instagram, Snapchat, and other such social media platforms. Social media is a kind of memory vault, where we creatively and publicly document our lives. 

Take Tumblr, for example. This quirky platform is a haven for aesthetics and hilarious responses. It is a playground for those who talk of the moon and the stars and yet crack puns. It is your canvas for creative expression; you can put everything from fandom obsessions to social justice causes to poetry and art. Tumblr blends personal musings with cultural commentary making it a very interesting scrapbook. 

Also Read: Reddit: The social media platform that prioritizes community over algorithms

Pinterest, on the other hand, is one giant, interactive mood board. Users pin images and videos that spark joy! One gets to create collections on themes like home decor, fashion, recipes, travel, and more. This digital scrapbook is for aspirations and ideas. It helps you plan life with vibes and aesthetics and opens your mind to new ideas.

Snapchat’s charm lies in its fleeting content. Snaps and Stories vanish after 24 hours, capturing fleeting moments of everyday life, but they do so with authenticity. Snaps are generally pictures of notes from your class, the drink you’re having, pictures of the skies, and many other seemingly trivial but dear things. And Snapchat Memories archives these moments, creating a scrapbook of our lives. 

Perhaps the most famous one, Instagram is an instant scrapbook that is accessible at all times. Here, using Stories, Highlights, and Reels, we document our lives in real time. It is a visual diary where we share snapshots of our coffee dates, good hair days, achievements, milestones, work, and even part-time hobbies. It encompasses most facets of our lives within seconds. 

Twitter is a disorderly scrapbook but a lively one- it's an echo chamber where politics dominate, yet it also has hilariously awful jokes that somehow hit the mark. It has built a culture for random thoughts on various topics and oversharing. You can even record your reactions, whether it's commentary on news, societal issues, or the latest fashion trends. 

Reddit is a community scrapbook. Each community or subreddit acts as a niche scrapbook which includes information, shared experiences, advice, and opinions. From personal stories in r/AskReddit to niche interests in r/Art, it explores a wide range of human experiences. 

These digital scrapbooks save our memories and let us revisit our past. However, while personal scrapbooks were limited to our inner worlds, digital scrapbooks connect us with the world. They show our personal moments and also highlight trends and issues in society. Twitter and Reddit spark cultural and political talks, while Instagram and TikTok document changing beauty standards, lifestyle trends, and generational vibes. Social media makes everyone a mini-historian, creating a shared memory book that gives a colorful and diverse picture of human life.

Like everything in the digital world, using social media as digital scrapbooks comes with its own set of challenges though. Privacy concerns and digital overload can bother us, and also impact our mental well-being. But what really concerns me is that a scrapbook should be where we are our true selves, pouring our hearts out. On social media, though, everything is curated and filtered for what’s acceptable, aesthetic, and likely to get more likes. Where is the charm in making a scrapbook if you can't be vulnerable and authentic? As we move forward, perhaps, we need to think about how we use these digital scrapbooks. Are we finding joy in documenting our lives, or just chasing likes?

Which digital scrapbook is your favourite? Tell us in the comments.