Social Like – The Illusion of Laced Freedom
Have you ever felt that bittersweet sensation of existing—not in your own eyes, but through the digital approval of others? You post. You wait. Pling! A like. Your existence has just been validated. You are free… or so you think.
Because true freedom would mean ignoring this need, walking forward without looking back, without craving the thumbs-up or the virtual hearts. And yet, we bind ourselves, lace ourselves into this endless cycle of visibility.
This is precisely what the Social Like embodies. A shoe that gives you the illusion of free movement, yet with every step, reminds you of the absurdity of your search for recognition. Look at these laces, meticulously tied, like the countless expectations attached to the reactions on your latest post. Observe these hexagonal cutouts, resembling the voids between two notifications, the empty spaces between moments of fleeting relevance. The foot is there—visible, exposed—like an Instagram profile too perfect to be real.
And the heel? Yes, it elevates you, but it also makes you unstable. Like the ephemeral fame we chase on social media, the intoxicating illusion of greatness that wobbles at the slightest misstep, the next scroll that renders you obsolete.
Sartre once said: "Man is condemned to be free." But freedom is not comfortable. It is not barefoot. It is a precarious balance, perched on ten-centimeter heels, teetering between the need to be seen and the desire to break free from the gaze of others.
You think you're buying a pair of shoes? You’re mistaken. You are buying a metaphor. A manifesto. A performance of your own condition.
So lace up. Climb onto your illusory heights. Walk toward the infinite abyss of likes and validation… in absolute freedom.
