My Preschooler Has Her Own Instagram

What is this world coming to? And am I complicit?

My kid, playing with shaving cream at the library. Photo Credit: Author.

A decade ago, I read the first 3 books of Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies series. This young adult sci-fi series follows a teenage protagonist who flees the city to escape the cosmetic surgery all teens undergo at age 16 to become “Pretties.” The books were engrossing; I was in my early 20s, and I connected deeply to Westerfeld’s vital commentary on beauty standards, the pressure to conform, and how hard it’s becoming to live authentically.

Then I got to the 4th book: Extras. Extras is set in future Japan, where citizens use a “reputation economy.” Everyone has a face rank, which measures their popularity, and if you know someone’s name, you can check their feed to see how popular they are. The premise is reminiscent of the fantastic Black Mirror episode Nosedive, but Westerfeld published it back in 2007.

At the time, I couldn’t get through Extras. The premise, to me, seemed so ridiculous. Too ridiculous to even consider. Everyone trying to make their livelihoods through fame? No way.

I was wrong.

Today, 11 years after Extras was published, my 4-year-old has her own Instagram, and I think about that book all the time. I think how, over and over, the unfathomable becomes real; how sci-fi writers are…