IRL Project: Gen Z's Social Media Identity

Photographer Niccolò Rastrelli's project, 'IRL,' offers a nuanced look into how Generation Z navigates their online identities. Born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s, this generation, often termed 'digital natives,' engages with social media in ways that blend their offline and online personas.

Rastrelli, a member of Generation X, sought to understand the perspective of younger individuals by recruiting subjects from 14 to their late 20s. The project, which took him across Italy, the UK, Morocco, and France, features dual portraits. One depicts the subject in their personal bedroom space, their sanctuary for identity formation, while the accompanying image showcases curated snapshots from their phone screens, predominantly from platforms like Instagram.

These chosen images, often temporary 'stories' rather than permanent feed posts, include selfies, casual photos with friends, and artistic shots. This collaborative approach ensured the subjects actively co-curated their digital representation, mirroring the care they took in arranging their physical spaces. Rastrelli also used questionnaires to gather insights into their complex relationships with various social media platforms.

Interviews revealed that many Gen Z individuals maintain multiple accounts on a single platform for different levels of privacy, with some feeling truly themselves only on their most private profiles. A significant observation was the view of social media as a professional asset, akin to how chefs might view their restaurant kitchens. Platforms popular with older generations, like Facebook, were largely absent from Gen Z's digital landscape.