IRL Balaclava

Interest in online anonymity, right wing activism and glorification of sectarian violence from the youth of Northern Ireland has led to this outcome: a Snapchat filter that covers your face with a fake balaclava. I’m going for both humorous and disturbing with this project.

IRL Balaclava draws out some parallels between IRL (real life) activism, online anonymity, gaming culture, privacy, oversharing and illegal activities. Why not use a balaclava to hide your identity for online to-ing and fro-ing? As someone from Northern Ireland, it’s hard to move past the image of a balaclava and its inherent implication.

Snapchat, as a social media platform, is almost exclusively used by the generation most susceptible to sectarian activity, riots, violence, and glorification of terrorist organisations. The recent increase in these areas is worrying, and Snapchat has proven to be a useful cog in this machine.