Have you posted your REPORT yet? No? Shameful. Everyone has, and now they’re saying you didn’t post one because you can’t read.
In case you haven’t heard, REPORT is the latest trend that encourages us to aestheticize our lives online, engage in capitalism, and throw away photos in the feed — but with a Purpose. It’s mostly taken on TikTok, where users post slideshows recapping their weeks.
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“Obsessed with this trend and joining every week from now on,” one user, @emmytrouncecaptioned his post.
The first image is whatever they want – maybe a picture of a bookstore like this TikTok; a cup of tea found here; a photo of yourself, like this user did. The first image is important because it sets the vibe for the rest of the slideshow, but the real meat of the posts comes with the following six images that correspond to any of the REPORT letters:
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R is for Reading
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E is for Food
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P is for Play
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Or for Obsessing over
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R is for Recommendation
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T is for Treatment
One of the first REPORTs from @gooseweek on TikTok, who appears to post it weekly and is often credited as the creator of the REPORT by other people who post themselves. Most of the videos have a cottagecore vibe, and, in fact, are less Patrick Bateman than many post trends. REPORTS give viewers the idea that someone who prioritizes activities such as reading, eating well, playing games, and indulging themselves is someone who has a good relationship with the internet. But that, too, is an aesthetic itself. I’m so tired.
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Nothing about this trend seems particularly bad, but it is is the another example of how we are all expected to constantly monitor our own activities for the consumption of others, especially online. Reading a book? You should add it to your public Goodreads account and post it to your Instagram Stories. Watching a movie? Rate it on Letterboxd. Making cute food? Show me, or you don’t exist. Hanging out with friends? Prove it, or everyone will think you’re alone all the time. After all, what’s the point of existing if no one else knows how you do it?
Unfortunately, there is no victory in these types of trends: If you refuse to participate in it, you will be a hater, and if you participate in everything, you will be hungry for clicks. This trend is, for what it is, cute. Enjoy your life. Post about your life when you feel compelled and, if you want to use a template, this one exists.
But all social media — this trend in particular — is an exercise in self-monitoring. And we know that self-monitoring can affect the way we enjoy what we read, what we eat, how we play, what we worry about, what we recommend, and what drugs we indulge in. Because only the most aesthetically pleasing images will fit into the photo dump.
