Parsons School of Design
BFA Communication Design
Thesis 2021

Parsons School of Design
BFA Communication Design
Thesis 2021

Our Phones Tell Stories
Niharika Sundarigari

We live in a world where every facet of our life is influenced by social media. The information social media provides us, oftentimes excessive and intrusive, paints a person’s life story through their pictures. But is this story an accurate depiction of their real life? The answer is no.

Initially, diving deeper into my followers’ pictures on their phones allowed me to conclude that 90% of people don’t reveal their actual selves to the internet by hiding their emotions through a happy facade. These pictures posted online are almost always filtered, edited, and curated to look perfect. At the beginning of 2020, I conducted polls and surveys on Instagram and found that 85% of my followers filtered out the hard times they were facing due to the pandemic while updating their social media. 2020 was one of the most difficult years for most people and has driven people away from platforms like Instagram. So where can you get a glimpse of people’s real-life in 2020?

Flowto is an app that takes your emotions into account by promoting a healthy relationship with social media. It normalizes sharing stories however sad, dark, or deep; not everything needs to be perfect. The app excludes likes, comments, followers, and filters, temporary forms of validation we seek to feel good about ourselves. The app allows you to filter what you would like to see and allows you to express yourself freely by bringing light to the real stories of our lives.

(Red)

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