amid #deletefacebook, this designer imagined social media as hopeless, deserted motels

we spend time on social media, in a way, like online hotels, but with the #deletefacebook movement running amuck, many prominent influencers are checking out. most-recently, elon musk and playboy ended their long stays at the facebook-inn. meanwhile, instagram nears its peak, twitter picks up some traction, snapchat scrambles, and digital artist mike campau deconstructs it all into a series of empty parking lots, lit only by desperate neon signage. with each one, he reveals a different sad truth about mainstream social networks. 

all images courtesy of mike campau

mike campau calls his series ‘ANTISOCIAL.’ rightfully so. the full psychological/sociological effects of social media on the human race will surely be studied for years to come, but while we wait for those doctoral thesis’ to get published, we have campau’s satirical series to reflect on. ‘each image takes place in an empty parking lot,’ says campau, ‘which is a symbol of our singularly isolated posts, but placed in a location where it can be easily seen by many.’ 

for many, the social media experience is like that. whether lonely or seeking validation, we write cold posts for all to see, but none to flock to. ‘LOOK AT ME / LOOK AT ME / LOOK AT ME’ is an appropriate hook, line and sinker for the instagram hostel — but personally, the funniest line comes from the productively-blue linkedin sign: ‘PEOPLE I DON’T REALLY KNOW / ENDORSE ME FOR THINGS / I REALLY DON’T DO. ironically, here’s mike’s behance.