Following life online
Liverpool – Exhibition Follow examines how online click culture has created new structures for social and commercial validation.
- Discusses how the pursuit of Likes on social media influences people’s sense of self-worth
- A single click enables us to buy, sell, mimic, endorse, delete, validate or undermine an image and what it represents
:strip_exif():strip_icc()/filestorage/images/66061/Bookmarks%20Resource%20Space%20part%20of%20Follow%20at%20FACT%202015%20Photo%20Jon%20Barraclough.JPG)
Follow at FACT, Liverpool
:strip_exif():strip_icc()/filestorage/images/66057/Follow%20at%20FACT%202015%20De%CC%81bora%20Delmar%20Corp.%2C%20Branded%20for%20Life%2C%202015.%20Image%20by%20Jon%20Barraclough.JPG)
Follow at FACT, Liverpool
:strip_exif():strip_icc()/filestorage/images/66058/Follow%20at%20FACT%202015%20%20Kurdwin%20Ayub%2C%20sexy%2C%202013.%20Photo%20Jon%20Barraclough.JPG)
Follow at FACT, Liverpool
:strip_exif():strip_icc()/filestorage/images/66060/Follow%20at%20FACT%202015%20LaBeouf%2C%20Ro%CC%88nkko%CC%88%20Turner%2C%20TOUCHMYSOUL%2C%202015.%20Image%20by%20Jon%20Barraclough.JPG)
Follow at FACT, Liverpool
Individual experiences of life online are a particular focus of the exhibition, which also studies shifting views of identity, sharing and micro-celebrity prompted by the social media-informed Sharded Self.
In addition to reviewing how social media is used to satisfy people’s desire for affirmation, the exhibition also presents creative and alternative methods for surviving and subverting these share-all mediums.
Artists presenting at Follow include Cécile B Evans, Simon Whybray, Constant Dullaart and Ant Hamlyn. A FACTLab inspired by YouTube Space houses a pop-up production studio with lights, a green screen and filming and editing equipment, encouraging visitors to produce their own content.
The Big Picture
Following the first wave of social media, people are beginning to think more critically about how online social platforms affect how we perceive ourselves and others, resulting in a Mega-systems backlash. Read our #NOFILTER column to find out more.
:strip_exif():strip_icc()/filestorage/images/130274/screenshot-2026-02-17-at-16-24-14.png)
:strip_exif():strip_icc()/filestorage/images/130278/rendy-novantino-gxg4m-k-r8g-unsplash.png)
:strip_exif():strip_icc()/filestorage/images/102512/travel-stat.jpg)
:strip_exif():strip_icc()/filestorage/images/130273/screenshot-2026-02-17-at-16-01-48.png)
:strip_exif():strip_icc()/filestorage/images/129311/pexels-cottonbro-4009398.jpg)
:strip_exif():strip_icc()/filestorage/images/105847/02-belonging.png)
:strip_exif():strip_icc()/filestorage/images/130265/chilis-margarita-of-the-month.jpg)
:strip_exif():strip_icc()/filestorage/images/125446/t98-roku-convention-stilllife-adults-10.jpg)
:strip_exif():strip_icc()/filestorage/images/105664/01-fulfillment.png)
:strip_exif():strip_icc()/filestorage/images/125568/natalia-blauth-ucfdcpujthc-unsplash.jpg)