Famous friends and falling in love: Taylor Swift knows what you want and gives it to you

Seen barrelling down an inflatable slide emblazoned with "Taymerica" on its side, Taylor Swift has been on quite the ride when it comes to social media. 

The pop singer has dominated news feeds and social media streams of late thanks to a steady stream of photos that sell her hopeless romantic, girl-next-door brand and also tap into that classic mainstay of human desire: to be loved. 

On one hand, there's the love of friends, like Swift's celebrity buds who chose a very public dip over a private swim last weekend. Swift's squad for July 4th included besties such as Gigi Hadid, Cara Delevingne, Karlie Kloss, Uzo Aduba, Ruby Rose and Blake Lively (with husband Ryan Reynolds tagging along).

And of course, there's romantic love: Swift's high-profile relationships are now famous fodder for her music. Most recently, after shaking it off with Scottish DJ Calvin Harris following about a year of dating, Swift's been taking public displays of affection to a whole new level with current beau, English actor Tom Hiddleston. 

The internet lost its mind a few weeks ago when The Sun tabloid released pics of the couple making out in Rhode Island and strolling with Hiddleston's mum in the seaside town of Ipswich. The couple didn't seem to mind that photographers were snapping away all around them. Or maybe they did, but decided to live their lives in the public eye anyway. 

Responding to skeptics, The Sun's associate editor Dan Wootton noted that the incident wasn't a celebrity-paparazzi set-up. 

Still, "there is no doubt she has a terrific team of PR advisors behind the scenes advising her and working with her on messaging that she feels is authentic," ​according to Debra Goldblatt-Sadowski, president and founder of Rock-it promotions inc.

"She is a strong, extremely smart, successful young woman and with that comes a lot of planning and thought. You can bet for almost everything she does (that is media facing), she does it with a strategic plan in place."

Lest you think she's hogging the spotlight, Swift also thrusts the love lives of others into her frame as well, from Ed (on-a-break-from-social-media) Sheeran spied canoodling with his girlfriend in the background of one Instagram post to the fans whose wedding she crashed.

Is it a genuine portrait of real life? Maybe, but it's definitely part of an intentional, curated depiction of the star. 

"There is nothing actually new under the celebrity sun," declared Shinan Govani, social columnist and celebrity-watcher. 

"The levers of information and the pace with which the nuggets and images are distributed are different, yes... But, in a way, Taylor Swift is using social media the way another Taylor — Elizabeth, that is — allowed the media to turn her life into theatre. But the more she did, the less we knew."

Swift wasn't alone in broadcasting her holiday fun: various A-listers took to social media last weekend to post carefully selected celebratory images and videos out to the world. At least one admitted — cheekily — to the staged nature of this sort of sharing.

"The danger with social media is that people believe too much. Social media is like an extension of reality programming in many ways: it's real, but very filtered (no pun intended)," said Goldblatt-Sadowski.

"Instagram is much like curating your own personal magazine and Snapchat your own reality show. There are slices of reality, for certain, but celebs are like anybody else in that you never see what happens behind closed doors."

When it comes right down to it, Swift knows just how to stay in the spotlight. An earlier post captioned with a lyric by her former flame Harris indicates that singer knows exactly how to hook us: by showing off a joyful life filled with vibrant, famous friends and falling in love. Well, you came to the right place.