Before the Wedding, I Asked Myself: Am I Marrying for Love or for Social Media? [Video]

We have been fed the idea of a big, fat Indian wedding our whole lives. But social media is more insidious. “There’s a certain amount of awareness when watching a movie that it isn’t real life. But that moment on Instagram is someone’s reality, making it more attainable in some ways. When it’s a friend of a friend who is spending millions on their wedding, it suddenly doesn’t feel so far out of your reach. The degrees of separation are few and far between, and that’s dangerous,” warns Tanya Vasunia, a psychologist and published researcher.

Brides, including me, often forget that social media influencers sell us a product, not reality. On a reality show, Alanna Pandayunabashedly shared how her wedding was meant to earn her big bucks. “It’s a huge opportunity for us to not only grow on social media but also to make money. Besides, obviously, it’s also a very big day …