‘I Like The Real You More Than the Instagram You’
A note on authenticity
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What we see on our screen isn’t always as it appears to be. Everyone has an Instagram profile these days - whether it's your grandad, your best friends cat, or your ex, they’re all online. Instagram has become one of the main forms of social media that people use to express themselves and present their online personas. But is what we post a reflection of our authentic selves?
I’m preaching to the choir here, but we all know our social media feeds are carefully curated highlight reels. Our feeds show the best bits of our lives, and over time our feeds have become less about who we are and more about how we want others to perceive us. We only show what we want to show. By posting glossy snapshots with clever captions, we create skewed realities of what our lives really look like. Be careful not to take everything you see online at face value.
When we come to prefer our online identities over our real selves, what we’re saying is that our online selves are more acceptable than our real selves, and somehow we’re inferior. Instagram started as a space for users to try their hand at photography and share what they loved and what inspired them, but it’s quickly morphed into something else altogether. There's still a desire for polished aesthetics and perfect personas, and whilst it may seem all fun and games at first, it isn’t a true reflection of our lives as a whole.
It’s all too easy to forget that what we post online does not equate to who we are as people, we are way more important, more valuable, and more worthy than our social media feeds. Social media is like a mask, and no matter how hard you may try, if you’re not staying true to yourself eventually that mask will slip. Sometimes it can be hard to find our ‘real’ selves amongst all of the noise, but being authentic and genuine in this day and age is priceless.
Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and Twitter to see more of what I’m up to, and I’ll see you same time same place next week!
Catch you soon,
J’Nae
WHAT I’VE BEEN READING:
- I’m only a fraction of the way through reading Untamed by Glennon Doyle but I love this anecdotal memoir already. Also a great underlying message for women to not get trapped in the lives people expect you to lead, but to instead live life on your own terms.
WHAT I’VE BEEN WATCHING:
- I’m slowly but surely getting into the Christmas spirit, and although the 2018 movie Peter Rabbit isn’t necessarily Christmas themed, it had me looking forward to the festive season.
WHAT I’VE BEEN LISTENING TO:
- Who knew the Biebs still made music? I definitely didn’t. Either way, his and Shawn Mendes’s new song Monster is a vibe.
WHAT’S CAUGHT MY EYE:
- Indie Catalogue is an online shop dedicated entirely to providing a platform for independent and small businesses. They make indie businesses more visible with direct links to the brands online shops and websites, and you're able to search through hundreds of products all made by someone who cares.