Photo Credit: selfie, dog
In today’s social media world, people might be juggling a handful of different social media accounts, some of which they may no longer use as much as they once did. As a result, they may no longer be updating their social media profiles on a regular basis. And that’s creating an interesting phenomenon that many people are starting to notice: there’s a good chance that the social media profile photo of the person you are interacting with on a regular basis looks absolutely nothing like that person in real life. That can be very awkward. So it definitely pays to keep your social media profile photo updated, but how often?
How often should you update your profile photo?
According to some social media experts, the general rule of thumb is that you should be updating your social media profiles at least every three years. However, they point out that any significant change in your personal appearance might require a change in your profile photo. Basically, if someone sees your profile photo, it should bear a fairly accurate representation of what you now look like.
There’s a good reason for this. According to psychologists, meeting someone who looks vastly different from how you imagined them can be a bit jarring. Due to the unconscious biases that we have in the human brain, it might even lead to some quick judgments about that person. If you walk into a job interview, and someone looks very different from their profile photo, you might decide that person is not authentic. If you go on a coffee date with someone, and the person you meet in real life looks very different from how they look online, then you might conclude that person has something to hide.
Of course, it takes time to swap out all those social media photos, and older workers might decide it’s simply not worth the time and effort. It can feel a bit ridiculous convincing yourself you need to buy a selfie stick to take selfies, for example, when you have a family to take care of. And, unless you are a full-time social media influencer, it can seem a bit vain and excessive to be changing profile photos every time you get a new hairstyle.
The rise of the NFT profile photo
The good news is that there’s a solution for all this: the NFT profile photo. It’s now easier than ever to upload an NFT as your profile photo for different social media platforms. In fact, there’s an entirely new name to describe this: the PFP, or profile photo. The PFP phenomenon started with celebrities and influencers, but now has gone relatively mainstream. At one time, there were entire websites dedicated to tracking the PFPs of celebrities. When checking out the social media profiles of late-night hosts, professional athletes, and Hollywood actresses, you could find everything from Bored Apes to CryptoPunks to Lazy Lions.
Of course, with the crypto crash in 2022, NFTs are less popular than they used to be. But it’s easy to see how the rise of the NFT has changed the game for social media influencers looking for a fresh take on the profile photo. The old “three-year rule” for updating a profile photo no longer seems as relevant. If you’re not into taking selfies, then you have a new solution for keeping your profile relevant: the NFT. And that means the best time to update your social media profile photo is not every three years – it’s anytime you buy a new NFT.
