0:00 An alarm clock rings and the scene cuts to fictional internet celebrity Alexa Calhoun laying in her bed. Music begins, and the title “Picture Perfect” and credits display in the top-left border of the video. Alexa wakes up to her first social media comment of the day from a fan asking how she became perfect.

00:00:00 –> 00:00:07
[Alarm and Music]
Depression creeps up on you quietly.
[Notification Sound]

0:10 Alexa grabs her keys and gets ready for work, but not before posting about it on Instagram. The scene cuts to a dramatized version of Alexa’s process of leaving for work as presented for her social media followers.

00:00:08 –> 00:00:13
At the very beginning, you struggle with

00:00:13 –> 00:00:14
the little things but you usually just

00:00:14 –> 00:00:18
ignore them. It’s like a headache, you’ll

00:00:18 –> 00:00:21
tell yourself it’s temporary and it’ll pass.
[Notification Sound]

0:20 In reality, Alexa, distraught with depression, gets on the elevator as commenters shower her with admiration on her post.

00:00:21 –> 00:00:28
It’s just another bad day, but it’s not.
[Notification Sound]

0:30 Alexa sits overwhelmed at her desk as fans comment wishing for her “perfect life”. Alexa updates her Instagram followers with a glimpse of her dream job as the scene cuts to Alexa doing simple office work.

00:00:29 –> 00:00:32
You’re stuck in this state of mind, you

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get used to putting on a social mask, and
[Notification Sounds]

00:00:36 –> 00:00:38
you continue to live among other people

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because that’s what you have to do.

0:40 Alexa presents her daily commute home on the subway to her adoring fans as a luxurious experience while sulking and laying her head on the window before getting off.

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That’s what others do.

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However, the problem does not go away. You

00:00:51 –> 00:00:51
struggle to put on a play every day
[Notification Sounds]

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and it starts to cost you more and more.

0:55 An old high school friend reaches out to Alexa congratulating her on her success as she lays depressed in bed, ignoring her boyfriend at the door.

00:00:56 –> 00:00:59
That is why you fall even deeper and that’s when
[Notification Sounds]

00:00:59 –> 00:01:04
you slowly start to back away from friends

00:01:04 –> 00:01:05
and family sometimes completely shutting

00:01:06 –> 00:01:11
them out. All satisfaction is gone.
[Notification Sound]

1:10 Due to her internet fame, a startup brand reaches out to Alexa on Instagram to promote some of their clothes to her followers. Alexa ignores their message.

00:01:11 –> 00:01:14
The little things that used to bring you

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joy are now worthless. Even the simplest

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tasks become painful and that is why you

1:20 Alexa’s latest post showcases a night at the movies with all of her friends. Fans comment wishing for her level of popularity, but in reality, she sits in the empty theatre alone.

00:01:23 –> 00:01:26
lack motivation now. Why would you keep
[Notification Sounds Intensify]

00:01:26 –> 00:01:29
on trying if nothing makes you happy

00:01:29 –> 00:01:32
anyway? All of this makes you feel even

1:30 Instagram displays Alexa’s gourmet cooking skills to her fans as she tells everyone about date night with her boyfriend. Off camera, Alexa is hunched over her kitchen sink, struggling to keep herself from falling apart.

00:01:32 –> 00:01:34
worse and you’ll get caught up in a

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vicious circle. Suddenly you find
[Notification Sounds]

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yourself living in slow-motion. Days

1:40 Alexa sits on the couch and stares lifelessly at the storm outside of her window while her fans express their admiration and beg for the secret to her perfection.

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become indistinguishable. Just white noise,

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just heaviness filling your mind and

00:01:49 –> 00:01:54
spilling over your body. You feel as
[Notification Sounds]

00:01:54 –> 00:01:58
though you will never be happy again. You

00:01:58 –> 00:02:00
continue to back away and destroy

2:00 After dinner, Alexa shares her double date preparing to watch television. A fan suggests she livestream the event so her fans can enjoy the show with her, but the scene cuts back to reality where the TV is displaying static and Alexa is lying on her couch alone on the verge of breaking down.

00:02:00 –> 00:02:03
relationships. You’re assumed for

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everything you’ve done and everything
[Notification Sounds]

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you haven’t. There is a part of you that

00:02:08 –> 00:02:12
wants to make things right. A sudden
[Notification Sound]

2:10 Fans discuss Alexa’s immeasurable beauty as Alexa crouches and holds her head down in the bathtub.

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positive upsurge makes you want to go
[Notification Sounds]

00:02:14 –> 00:02:17
out and meet people, but it’s all very
[Notification Sounds]

00:02:17 –> 00:02:20
short-lived because you know it won’t
[Notification Sounds]

2:20 Alexa shares a glimpse of her perfect day on the beach with her boyfriend with her adoring followers online, but really, she’s falling apart. As fans begin discussing what makes them the perfect couple, Alexa begins to cry in her boyfriend’s arms.

00:02:20 –> 00:02:25
work anyway. Things that make your

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friends excited leave you indifferent and

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you become aware of the huge gap that
[Notification Sounds]

00:02:31 –> 00:02:35
lies between you. Another failure is not

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an option so in the end, you choose to be
[Notification Sounds]

00:02:38 –> 00:02:41
alone in your comfort zone where no one

2:40 Amidst an increase in comments praising Alexa for her seemingly flawless life, Alexa begins to unravel while yelling on the phone.

00:02:41 –> 00:02:46
asks any questions. Low self-esteem and
[Notification Sounds]

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the lack of purpose become unbearable.

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You finally realize you can’t go on that

2:50 In a new post, Alexa pretends to have been caught sleeping by her boyfriend. However, the image she shares is the same image from the beginning of the video of her waking up alone.

00:02:54 –> 00:02:56
way and two things can happen:

00:02:58 –> 00:03:01
you either decide to get some help or

3:00 In her final post, Alexa shows an exciting day at the beach with all of her friends despite her standing on the beach alone. The notifications become even more intense as followers praise her so-called perfect life.

00:03:01 –> 00:03:05
you might attempt a suicide.

3:10 The notifications reach their peak as Alexa relives her sadness and breaks down in tears before finally turning her TV off and disconnecting.

[Music Grows]
[Notification and Texting Sounds Flood Audio]

3:30

00:03:29
[Abrupt Silence]

[Source Material Citations]