Digital Footprint Through the Lens of Brat
How do you market to a generation that lives loud in person but holds back online?
Ask:
People aren’t afraid of being seen—they’re afraid of being archived. Expression isn’t disappearing, it’s going underground.
Insight:
Inspired by the chaos of the Charli XCX Sweat Tour, this project explores the tension between real-life expression and digital caution. Through man-on-the-street interviews and a quantitative survey on online behavior, I found that people aren’t holding back—they’re just choosing when & where to be seen.
Overview:
Methodology
To explore this, I conducted one-on-one interviews with concertgoers at the Charli XCX Sweat Tour in Baltimore, Maryland. These conversations provided firsthand insights into how fans engage with Brat beyond the album’s release, shaping it into a broader lifestyle and cultural identity.
>>Quantitative Survey to understand digital footprint and online behaviors
>>Video of man-on-street interviews at the Charli XCX SWEAT Tour in MD
Straight From the Crowd
To explore what happens offline, I conducted in-person interviews at Charli XCX’s Sweat Tour in Baltimore, MD— an event designed around hyper-expression, maximalism, and reckless confidence. The goal was to observe how these same digitally cautious individuals behaved in a space with no social media constraints. Here’s what they shared:
*CONTENT WARNING: this video contains language which may be offensive to some. Viewer discretion is advised.*
Online Personas
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Online Personas ⋆
To look into how young adults manage their digital identity, I conducted a quantitative survey of individuals aged 18-55 on their social media habits, privacy concerns, and self-censorship behaviors. The goal was to identify patterns in how they present themselves online versus how they behave in social settings.
Posting with Consequences
The Linkedin Effect
70% of respondents expressed at least some concern about how their online activity could impact their careers.
Those in mid-to-senior level positions (5+ years of experience) were most likely to delete old posts or avoid posting entirely
In contrast, early-career and student respondents were more likely to share personal content— but only in controlled spaces (e.g., private accounts, close friends)
Going Ghost Mode
37 out of 60 respondents rarely or occasionally post personal content, even though they are active on social media
Those who post frequently still exercise caution, often restricting content to private stories or Close Friends lists.
Chronically Online But Lowkey
Nearly all respondents regularly update privacy settings, delete old posts, or avoid certain topics altogether.
The most avoided content categories? Partying, personal opinions, and political views. A majority of these topics live on “finsta” accounts, or “fake instagram” accounts.
*Examples from real Instagram stories & “finstas”
Plot Twist
Digital caution isn’t about holding back; it’s about control—choosing when and where to be fully seen. They want ownership over their narrative, deciding what stays, what disappears, and what never exists online at all. They are selective, not silent—expressive, but only on their own terms.
Give Control or Get Ignored
Products That Allow Customers to “Own their Narrative”
Insight: People are intentional about what stays and what disappears— they don’t want to be erased, but they want control.
Opportunity: People are more likely to share something if it has their personality in it. Rather than expecting something like user-generated content for a brand, give them a tool to manipulate that they are more likely to share by word-of-mouth because they’ve made it theirs. This matters because we are seeing the trend of friends and loved ones being more trusted than a paid influencer.
This Audience Prefers Word-of-Mouth Over Public Posting
Insight: The more career-conscious a person is, the less likely they are to post online—but they are still highly influential in private spaces.
Opportunity: Focus on more intimate brand experiences that allow for multigenerational cross over with a judgement free space. Knowing that those in their earlier careers are more conscious of their digital footprint, allowing them to see that there is still an opportunity for that expression at different stages of their career could ease the tension between posting about events and their potential professional outcome.