In an Instagram post late Saturday evening, 24-year-old Kelly Melberth expressed her uncertainty about her cuteness in a selfie—via a caption claiming she “might delete” the post later in the evening. But in a shocking twist, sources are reporting that she had no actual intentions of deleting the image. And days later, the post was clearly still there.
Reached for comment, Melberth confirmed that she did, in fact, feel very cute in that selfie, but had fabricated the part about deleting the post to ensure that she didn’t come off “too confident.”
“It’s important to be hot and humble on social,” Melberth continued, “Even if your selfie is fire, you have to make sure people know your self love has its limits.”
This isn’t the first time Melberth has used this tactic. In a post as recent as last weekend she ‘grammed a selfie with the caption, “#INeverDoThis.” A simple scroll through her feed counters that point entirely, as it is around 87% selfies.
Social Media experts support Melberth’s strategy, stating that, especially for women, it’s key to pair a stunning photo with a self deprecating caption in order to give away an acceptable amount of power. This ups the likeability factor exponentially, as society is still deeply uncomfortable with women accepting themselves fully and unapologetically.
What Melberth and other women know all too deeply, is that “Felt cute, might delete later” remains a tried and true tactic for coming off as approachable, and soliciting compliments from people who seek to reassure you not to delete the pic. And that’s a win!
