Hidden Bodies

Joe resists joining Facebook, Tinder, or any other social media platforms until it benefits his search for Amy. He hates the idea of social media, and when he joins, it is even worse than he thought. Social media presents an artificial version of people. It also allows people to broadcast their whereabouts, which is the only thing that allows Joe to find Jessica Salinger.

The celebrity sightings in The Pantry are one of the first signs of Joe’s view of social media. Seeing someone in a grocery aisle is not a newsworthy event, but no one seems to know. Consider the breathless tweets with their inane hashtags: “Omigod literally just saw Pacey Cole Witter Lockhart #dawsonscreek #pantry #needaffair #ilovela #idie,” and, “LA where you can’t get groceries without feeling like a #loser #pantry #adamscott #joshjackson #dianekruger #ihaventbookedanythingin4months” (58). People get on Twitter to tweet about famous people, inspiring envy and (hopefully) catching the eye of a producer or actor. This vapid pretending at social connection bothers Joe intuitively, yet he does not see his own hypocrisy in embodying the same drive to be seen, if not to actually be known.

Throughout the novel, people use social media to hold public conversations about mundane events that would scarcely count as anecdotes in a private conversation.