You’re scrolling through social media one morning, bundled up under your covers. As you mechanically swipe through your feed, your friend’s story reposts a piece of writing. Maybe it’s in a lowercase font. Short, sweet (like Sabrina Carpenter’s album). There are some linework drawings at the bottom of the post. The writing speaks to growing, changing, manifesting, and it’s tagged as a poem. With the power of social media, is this the future of poetry?
What is Social Media Poetry?
Poetry is inherently a space to play. While some types of poems require strict adherence to repeating words or rhyme scheme (such as sestinas or sonnets), writers can often engage in free verse poetry or can craft their own new poetic form (see Jericho Brown’s invented form called the duplex). So what are the characteristics of this newfangled “social media poetry,” or “Instapoetry”?
To put it bluntly, social media poetry is anything labeled as poetry that we encounter on social media platforms like Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok, or Tumblr—but most of it seems to stem from Instagram. The poems either originate from a poet’s personal account, where they publish their work digitally as a typical post, or the poems are submitted to “hub” accounts that collect or repost work to reach greater audiences. While some “hub” accounts simply repost older works that you can find in literary magazines or on their accompanying websites, most collect work from lesser-known poets on social media.
But why is poetry getting tangled up with social media? If the idea of social media poetry is unsettling to you, you’re not alone. When I was younger, I was also a pickier reader. I used to criticize poems that lacked capitalization as adhering to a trendy aesthetic. Over time, I’ve grown to recognize that every part of a poem is a stylistic choice that the poet engages in and considers when crafting their work. But something has been drawing me to social media poetry, not as a critique, but more of a question. Is it a unique type of poetry that deserves its own formal designation? How do we receive these poems?
Let’s start with what all social media poetry seems to have in common:
- Many of the poems reference love or longing for someone. Often, they discuss the pains of a breakup.
- Some of the poems are similar to affirmations. They encourage readers to discover their self-worth and build confidence, often achieving a direct connection to the reader through the use of second-person point of view rather than a specific speaker.
- The poems are often short, usually one page or even a line or two.
- The poems are formatted sparingly—simple backgrounds, minimal images, and lots of white space.
- Sometimes the poems lack titles.
Pros of Social Media Poetry
Now let’s cut to the chase—should we be considering this “real” poetry? In the spirit of “we listen and don’t judge,” let’s examine the benefits and drawbacks of social media poetry.
- Accessible forms of joy and connection: Poetry is a way for us to name our emotions and connect with one another over the reflective experience of writing. With poetry becoming more prominent through social media, it has also become easier to access. We can encounter various poems that might have taken us a while to unearth through websites or literary magazines.
- Anyone can write it: Social media poetry has been crafted by unique individuals, many of whom are not famous writers with work published in magazines or journals. This means that anyone can try their hand at writing social media poetry. We don’t need to associate poetry with scrawled leather journals, calligraphy, typewriters, flickering candles, wax seals and dark academia (although for the Dead Poets Society members among us, it certainly can be).
- Reader-friendly: If you’re plagued by memories of shaking your head in English class and just wondering what a poem means, social media poetry might be more approachable. When we encounter poems on social media, we often attach a less formal association with the work because it’s something that has popped up on our feed, meant for us to read. It feels less daunting than jotting down highlighter-riddled annotations in the margins of your paper.
- Omnipresent: If you don’t have an interest in poetry, chances are that you won’t reach for the first poetry book you see at the bookstore or library. In fact, most people often don’t even know where to find the poetry and literary criticism section (tip: usually found near the beautifully bound classics, in my experience). But if you want to dive into poetry online, you can easily do so by following a quick hashtag or repost. Emerging writers can also reach greater audiences and receive a wide range of feedback through the form of comments.
Cons of Social Media Poetry
- It Makes Publishing More Complicated: Social media might be a great way to gain an audience, but the logistics of publishing are complicated. Some literary magazines don’t like the idea of previous publication. And according to many literary magazines and journals, social media does count as a form of previous publication. This makes things extremely messy when formal publishing comes into play. So social media poetry is a great start for poets looking to gain exposure or casual poets looking to connect with one another and experiment in the genre, but be careful if you’re looking to submit your work to magazines.
- Ethical Dilemmas: Is it right (or should I say write?) for poetry hub accounts to reuse other poets’ pieces in a collective social media account? Some creators might not consider how acclaimed poets would feel upon discovering their work on other social media accounts, especially if they have not given their explicit permission to repost or if they haven’t been appropriately attributed. This means that “hub” poetry accounts may be engaging in copyright infringement when reposting other poets’ works. The “hub” accounts may gain followers and the poem might ultimately gain a broader audience; however, recognition likely won’t reach the poet, and the work will instead wash away into the void of social media.
- Repeated Cliches: We often see the same themes and structure emerge when we encounter poetry on social media. The poems start to look the same or feel less thoughtful, which begs the question: are we trying to fit our writing to conform to this style? Is social media poetry and short-form content the only ways to gain recognition in a technology-centered world?
A Word to the Wise
Some writers might feel the need to question social media poetry, especially when considering its advantages and disadvantages as a form. Others might even scoff and ask if social media poetry should even qualify as poetry. From a writer’s perspective, technically, there are few boundaries to poetry, so we should attempt to be inclusive of this type of writing as a new form and reflection of our day and age.
This doesn’t mean that everyone has to start writing social media poetry. While it’s natural to form opinions on other people’s work, we should also aim to respect that art, especially if it is coming from new writers who are still finding their voices. And who knows? Maybe someone who was never interested in poetry before might be inclined to go support their local bookstore after discovering Rupi Kaur on their feed, and that’s never a bad thing.
