The internet today is a seamless extension of our lives and it is overflowing with content. Even before the pandemic, social media platforms were an inextricable part of our lives, and now with Covid-19 having turned our world upside down, the internet is a source for forming new bonds and forging connections with people across the globe. The internet is our social life, our work life, our study life, and much more. According to the latest figures, the average internet user spent 2 hours, 24 minutes daily on social media in 2020. During all this time spent online, we are bombarded with endless waves of content and messaging and very often, none of it really leaves a lasting impact due to the sheer volume of it all. This is why messaging around social issues requires well-thought content that can be put across in a creative manner.
Creative and Inclusive Messaging
When I started ‘Project I am Enough’ in July this year, my aim was to get my message out to as many people as possible in an organic manner. I wanted to address the issue of body shaming and dispel this notion of the “perfect body”, but I wanted to do this in an earnest way and I wasn’t in it for the millions of Instagram followers. Which is why Project I Am Enough has a strong but dedicated community of 900 followers today, and each of these 1000 people are proactive change makers who are spreading awareness about how to prevent body shaming.
Our followers send us content through mails. The artists in our community of followers use the power of their art as the messaging medium while those who are good with words use their writing to send out messages. Several others use photography to express their messages and many others use video to share their personal messages. There are even some dancers in the community who’ve recorded their specially created performances to spread the Project I am Enough message. People from different walks of life, both men and women, are coming out to express their journey through the emotions of shame, anger, and sadness, to the final feelings of acceptance, self-love, and kindness. All these different art forms enable us to put out our message as creatively as possible. While poster art can catch someone’s eye while scrolling, a personal video message can connect and resonate directly with hundreds of people who might have gone through similar experiences.
Expression comes in different forms and sizes, just like people’s bodies, and hence, we at Project I am Enough find immense power in putting out our message through a myriad ways. And to this effect we had started Inktober, an initiative that allowed artists to express themselves through painting, photography, dance, and singing using Tik Tok .
All of this collaboration with artists from different walks of life and various countries has led to a harmonious sense of oneness in our team and it has opened up more avenues for us to put our message about Project I am Enough.
