Introduction
“A Social Life” is a powerful story of Meredith, a career-driven woman who has established the life she has always wanted, but only online. Meredith strives for a balanced existence that involves being healthy, working hard, and maintaining strong relationships with her friends. She is building her fake image within her social media friend network. Nevertheless, she awakens one day to realize that her reflection is only a collection of photographs she had shared on social media. In the Award-Winning film “A Social Life,” the video depicts a disconnect from reality due to social media’s impact, as evident through the setting, symbolism, and style of diction, or lack thereof.
Settings
The entire film occurs in Meredith’s house, where she lives alone. The bedroom was used for the morning shot, the kitchen was used for food photographs, and the living room was used for most of the video. Meredith’s first thought when she wakes up is to check her social media. She immediately puts on her running shoes, takes a photo, and adds, “Time to hit the road” (KerithLemon Pictures 1:08). However, she does not go out for a run, in any case.
In the evening, Meredith captures a photograph of veggies beautifully placed on a kitchen table to make it look like she is beginning to prepare dinner. Once the photo is uploaded, the young woman takes a box of ready-made food she probably ordered (Kerith Lemon Pictures 2:30). Meredith appears lonely and miserable, smiling only when she takes photos. She goes through the same daily routine: uploading posts to social media and pretending to live a healthy and balanced lifestyle.
Diction
Significantly, there are no conversations during the film aside from Meredith’s quick phone call with her mother. The choice of words highlights the young woman’s isolation. Her mother tries to invite her over the weekend, but Meredith answers that she is busy and has to prepare dinner, which is untrue.
The absence of speech is a crucial aspect of this film, as it represents what it is like for someone who is entirely captivated by social media. The struggles and state of mind are mostly portrayed through music. When Meredith starts to browse the social media feed, the alarming music plays (Kerith Lemon Pictures, 3:29). Thus, the music and the lack of conversations depict a separation from real life.
Symbolism
Symbolism plays a crucial role in “A Social Life” in illustrating the disconnect from reality. For instance, a mirror symbolizes the life she created online (Kerith Lemon Pictures, 6:20). She comes closer to it and observes all the fake photographs she used to depict this precious life, which is not her own. The photos tumble down the mirror, and the phone drops to the ground, demonstrating that Meredith has had enough and no longer wants to be dominated by social media.
Finally, the woman leaves the prison, the house where she had been isolated for so long, to accomplish what she had advertised on social media. Ultimately, the white light symbolizes the hope that Meredith will change her life.
Conclusion
To conclude, the film portrays a disconnect from reality that many people experience in the modern world through setting, symbolism, and diction style. Meredith suffers from loneliness and is visibly unhappy since she has made exhibiting a fake existence on social media her sole reason for living. The video conveys a strong message: people should not become obsessed with online life since it is unreal. Finally, Meredith finds the strength to leave her phone behind and walks out of the house to truly enjoy the day.
Work Cited
Kerith Lemon Pictures. “A Social Life | Award Winning Short Film | Social Media Depression.” YouTube, uploaded by Kerith Lemon Pictures, 2016.