After nearly a year of social media detox, actor Taapsee Pannu is back online. The actor, who recently asked followers what kind of content they would like to see from her, says the return was prompted partly by industry realities, including being told that some brands prefer celebrities who are more active and visible on social media. When HTCity reached out to the actor to find out more she told us, sometime last year she decided to go slow on soicial media and focus on living real life. She says, “I did not announce that I would go slow on social media, this was something I did for myself unlike my work. The detox was because of multiple reasons. It felt like you are always in the race of starting trends or participating in trends. It was exhausting. I wanted to live my life and not constantly check social media,” Pannu tells us.
To break the habit, she deleted social media apps from her phone and accessed them only through her iPad. “Actors are also told not to expose themselves too much. Otherwise, why would people come to theatres to watch you? That logic made sense to me,” she says. She adds that maintaining social media is hard work and it was taking away from her time living life and experiences that help her become a better actor. “I felt like my day started evaporating. The questions that followed were of all sorts- you have not been around are you okay, where have you vanished. The questions were to an extent that your feed only looks about movies and brands, why aren’t you posting?”
But reduced visibility came at a cost. “I was told brands want people who are visible. I was also told, ‘You don’t post so much, so this brand won’t associate with you. That brand prefers someone who is hyperactive on social media. You should be like this particular person’.”
Pannu, however, questions the logic. “If a brand is coming to me, they are coming for me as a person. If I have to be like someone else, what’s the point?”
While acknowledging the role social media plays in the entertainment business, Taapsee says she does not want to chase engagement at the cost of authenticity. “Authenticity should not be sacrificed for algorithms,” she says.
The actor is currently spending three months in Denmark with husband, Danish former badminton player Mathias Boe and family after wrapping her work commitments in India: “Not many films are shot during summers because of the weather conditions. Summertime is perfect in Denmark, so I wrapped my shoots and came here.”
The break, she adds, offers a welcome contrast to her Mumbai life: “I do everything myself, from cooking and gardening to maintaining my fitness routine and cycling to buy bread. It helps me stay real and normal.”
Pannu also reveals that she has always handled her social media accounts without professional help, which is why she was unsure what followers expected from her online presence. “I don’t have the bandwidth to click 50 photos and choose one to post. I’m not someone who will spend on hiring a social media team. I’ve always done it myself,” she says, adding,“If I want to increase engagement, all I have to do is post pictures from glam shoots. It’s the easiest shortcut. But I already do glam shoots for editorial content, brands and films. I want that uniqueness to stay.”
Speaking about her social media personality the actor says, “My social media account is raw, unfiltered, not tampered with, just like how I am.It may not have the most flattering visuals and be put together perfectly. There are days where I don’t want to post at all, other days I want to post something as random as flowers and plants because I love them. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the idea of getting used to posting again. My family makes fun of me that I can never find my phone, so pulling it out and taking a picture is a habit I have to develop again. ”
Sharing her thoughts on the kind of content that rules social media today she adds, “Opening Instagram makes your brain go through different emotions with rapid intensity, the whole digital PR game has shot through the roof, there’s good, bad and ugly. You can no longer point out which portal is PR driven. Paid PR can cut through any profile. If I follow someone, it is to know them as a person and not what they are paying for me to consume. Social media is a black hole that can suck you in and it takes a lot of mental strength to keep your calm, while scrolling through it.”