Authenticity wins
I had a medical condition pop up over the last few weeks.
On my social media feeds, I resisted the idea of mentioning it, mostly because I didn’t want the attention.
I kept posting article links, quips about Elon Musk and other tech luminaries, and stuck to my usual schedule of mentioning productivity tips and the book I wrote about habit-forming this year.
After testing the BeReal app, something changed in my view.
That app encourages authentic posting. Imagine that!
After my test, I had a moment when I realized I was a pawn of the major social media companies like Facebook and Twitter. They want us to post the best moments of our lives, the happy and smiling photos with a sunset in the background.
Frankly, those posts get more traction on social media. When a staged photo pops up, more people click “like” which in turn feeds the algorithm and shows us more ads. You could make the case that social media companies are successful because everyone has agreed to post the best moments of our lives. Never the worst.
In late 2022, have we finally realized this cycle of self-aggrandizing helps the social media companies more than it helps us?
We post about how awesome we are, when in reality there is more to life than the happy moments. Full disclosure that I’m part of the problem. Over the last 10 years, I have rarely if ever posted about any struggles. Like many of you, it’s “me, me, me” all of the time, but it’s rarely about my struggles or problems.
We want to be noticed for our accomplishments, not our failures.
This might even be the very thing that has created a subversive culture on social media. Trolls are good at sniffing out pride. They are constantly on the look-out for those who are also tooting their own horn. “Oh sure, look at you. That’s a nice photo. But you have no idea what you are talking about.”
When everyone is awesome, none of us are awesome. And, guess what? That turns us all into trolls. My best moments are better than your best moments. The trolls are winning because we’ve all become trolls, and we’re all on the hunt to be best.
I have an idea about what to do about that.
As humans, we’re in a constant state of failure. None of us can “keep up appearances” at all times. My health issue is a startling reminder about that.
Perfection is not possible, and maybe in 2023 we’ll start making progress on admitting that. I believe the BeReal app was a step in the right direction in finally breaking the vicious cycle of constant narcissistic behavior on social media; the app became popular because some of us realized the cycle needs to end.
This is where it gets personal.
Technology provides a platform for good or bad. Social media is the perfect example. It can be all about product promotions, influencer lifestyles, and posting about our accomplishments. Eventually, that gets tiresome and old.
Social media can also be a way to help others, to collaborate and communicate with a global audience, and to call attention to atrocities in the world. It can be a vehicle of destruction or empowerment. If social media becomes a place where authenticity becomes the norm, the revenue from showing us ads might decline but the human race might improve. We’ll start supporting each other instead of knocking each other down.
And it starts with you.
One user at a time, deciding to share about real life.
I’ll start. When I mention this article on social media, I’ll also mention the medical issue. I don’t mean because I want sympathy or more clicks. I mean because it’s real life. I mean because it’s about time for some reality.
Isn’t “real life” what we all want anyway?
A fake life on social media isn’t that satisfying in the long run, at least once you’ve been living that way for years. In the end, we all want to be authentic. Will you?
