In a recent study, researchers have discovered that Malibu’s iconic sunset is no longer beautiful enough without an Instagram filter. The revelation may explain why a professional photographer’s picture of last week’s Malibu sunset looks like complete and total garbage compared to that of teenage girl’s cell phone picture of the same majestic evening.
The twenty-something research fellows at UCLA’s School of Photography concluded that the sky just doesn’t really have the “it” factor anymore without a little sprucing up. One tester, Denny Shaw, 27, said the app changed his life. “I felt so lonely until I posted a pic of me standing with my surfboard at El Matador and the hashtag ‘best life.’ I gained forty friends or followers or whatever you wanna call them, and now no one knows how empty I am inside.”
Since Instagram was founded in 2010, historical landmarks, family photos, and all food doesn’t have the same appeal without a Valencia or Amaro filter to fake out its viewer. The good news is that, with a little extra time and boredom, small adjustments like sharpening, saturation, and brightness can make your life seem better to the people that follow you.
Visiting tourist Shelby Carter, 16, agrees. “The beach sucks. When I look at the sky, I hate it. It’s gross. But when I took a picture at Zuma Beach and posted it on Instagram with an inspirational quote about how life is yours if you make the most of it or whatever, it got eighty-seven likes and like ten comments about how gorgeous it was and how jealous they were that I was there. Then I was like, ‘I get why people like this place.”
At press time, UCLA is in the midst of studying if taking selfies at the gym is social suicide or just a really douchey thing to do.
