We truly live in a society mediated by images. Whether it is on the television, your computer, a billboard, a magazine, everyday we are constantly bombarded with images that represent one thing or another. And there are a couple different ways of interpreting these images, here are some examples:
You see a picture of your friend on Facebook, an image of them looking their best taking a selfie, smiling into the camera. One way to look at them is to say “Oh wow, they sure are happy!”
Another way to look at it as that they represent happiness, but may or may not actually be so. Their face says happiness, but that is only a single snapshot in a single day, it is an image of happiness, a representation. I’m not saying that all your friends are faking happiness, but the image has replaced the substance, where looking or representing something has become more important that actually living it because you can always share an image on Facebook and no one knows the difference. 
EmerAgency and the Oil Spill 