The art behind Instagram poetry and what social media means for young writers
Gone are the days of long-form poetry and traditional books, thanks to the internet. If one thing that the Internet has taken and revolutionized, it’s writing. Whether it be sites like FanFiction.net or Archive of Our own- where people can post fanfics of their favorite shows and movies, to Instagram poetry- a unique brand of poetry that is popular among the younger generations.
Social media has decreased our attention spans?
Often, we’ve heard people say that social media has decreased our attention spans- which is true to an extent. Movies that used to be two to three hour-long earlier have now shifted to the 1-1.5 hour format, Reels and TikToks are no longer than 10-15 seconds, and blog posts with more than 1000-1500 words are skimmed through. Even Instagram captions are one-liners but we can chalk that up to “a picture says a thousand words”.
“Meme style” language
Now, let’s talk about social media and writing- how less formal and more casual language has become more commonplace and the standard in even many formal settings- companies are hiring people who have first-hand knowledge of social media and “meme style” language. It is true- the internet has changed the way we communicate. From creating an entirely new genre of internet-specific language to introducing a new style of writing in terms of online storytelling. The biggest example of social media changing the classical style of writing is Canada-born Indian, Rupi Kaur- whose book “Milk and Honey” was one of the first online or to be more precise, “Instagram poet” to get her work published and achieve global recognition. Her style of writing- with line breaks and informal language with sketch art- became one of the most popular styles- emulated by many young poets online.
Storytelling
And it’s not just poetry that social media has revolutionized but storytelling and prose writing too- as mentioned earlier, sites like Archive of Our Own, Wattpad, and FanFiction.Net have given space to fans of TV shows and movies and even bands, a space to showcase their writing. In fact, the movie After, which garnered quite a bit of success, was based on a Wattpad fanfic.
Instagram poetry #PoemsPorn
Although, it is not to say that this style of writing hasn’t been met with criticism from many for having supposedly ruined the art form that is writing. While on the other hand many believe that writing or poetry on social media has merely chosen to talk about complex issues in a much more prose-like and informal fashion, a la Sylvia Plath rather or even Mary Oliver, rather than take the classic approach of T.S. Eliot or a John Keats. It is also important to notice how Instagram poetry and online writing, in general, have appealed to younger generations more and even made complex issues of identities or nationalities easier to understand.
It might be the raw nature of online poetry and storytelling or the topics it unabashedly covers, but it is best to acknowledge its significance in helping many realize that writing is still an art form that is continually evolving with each generation. According to a New York Times article, this new wave of social media writers can spark interest back into writing for the young ones, and now with sites like Amazon offering self-publishing platforms, the ease of writing and getting it out to the public has become even more convenient.
From fanfiction and blog posts to three-line poetry on heartbreaks and love and even identity, Millennials and Gen Z have definitely paved a way for coming generations to make writing much more accessible and free, and creative rather than follow the “stick to the rules” approach.
To quote Robert Frost,
“I took the path less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” Tweet
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