Stop with the 'sleeping selfie' Instagram pose. We know you're not actually asleep.
Make way, make way. There's a new hot Instagram pose in town.
And it goes by the name #sleepingselfie.
Now, instead of nonchalantly posing with a downward gaze as if you had no idea a photo was being taken of you—a.k.a. the plandid—the new trendy pose is to straight-up pretend you're fast asleep as you take a selfie.
But, like, how does that work? Everyone knows you need to be conscious to operate your phone! Sorry Instagrammers: we know you're not ~actually~ sleeping.
A quick Insta search will yield almost 10K photos of 'grammers pretending they're out for the count.
But, while this pose might look aesthetically pleasing, the idea of taking a photo while you're supposedly in the land of nod might not pass muster with your followers. Logistically, it just doesn't work.
To achieve the look, you'll need to be lying supine with your arms outstretched above your head. Now close your eyes—you need to look like you're fast asleep, remember. Then, use one of your outstretched arms to take a deeply unconvincing #sleepingselfie.
Wow, how did you manage to take that cute selfie while asleep?
HEY! WE CAN TELL YOU'RE AWAKE.
If you want to make doubly sure you look good, you might have to keep your eyes the tiniest bit open. Don't worry, though: people will still DEFINITELY think you're sleeping.
Not satisfied with leaving your compelling nap time pose up to chance? Get a friend to take the photo of you.
Here's a tip: open your damn eyes and smile.
Topics Instagram Social Media
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
