Most of what seems flawless online is just filtered reality

Often, we forget that there is a real world outside of social media, and contrary to what we might think at that exact moment when we scroll a little bit more, or judge other people’s stories or feeds, it actually exists out there.

It includes countless situations, or conversations that you never knew about, and probably never will, because they are not fit for the curation. Well, unless somebody decides to farm some likes for attention, and then yes, you are going to hear about that breakup.

Filters.

We should’ve seen this one coming, and to be honest, amazed by the slow, perfect rollout that we’ve been forced to have in our lives.

2016, Snapchat, Instagram, whatever platform you like, the filters were on the rise.

And not just the colorful ones, but facial ones too, which probably symbolized that change into perfection. Suddenly, if you just had a pimple or something, you could hide it. And sooner than we know, we all became more conscious of all of those, resulting in a perfect illusion a decade later.

That’s not that 2016 throwback conversation you expected, so bear with us on this one.

Social media allowed almost every person on the planet to portray the perfect life, and choose what people get to see and what they don’t.

In a way, curate their life to fit into a perfect mold that will serve them for the next X amount of days, months, or whatever they need; secure a partnership, become an influencer who knows everything about anything in a minute, and countless other occasions that we all probably noticed before and, quite honestly, are tired of running into in our feeds.

Perceptions are perceptions at the end of the day. And how Jay-Z said? “Believe half of what you see. None of what you hear, even if it’s spat by me.”

Yes, we’re talking about the travel photo that took countless tries to make, and not for the sake of remembering the trip. Do you even remember the rest of the trip you had over there, or just that small flex for Instagram?

Experiencing meals through images instead of actually connecting in real life, or carrying a tripod everywhere you go, regardless of what’s actually happening in the street, looking aside from what’s real, just for the sake of a new haul. Unreal.

You see, imperfect experiences are universal. They happen to all of us. So why do we throw them in the back of the truck, keeping them away from the world? Maybe it’s a platform thing. Yes, it’s probably that.

Go on Substack or YouTube, and you’ll be able to see an uncurated version of things, which honestly is way better than the perfect curated world.

Some people do want to know the ugly mess behind those photoshoots, the crazy moments that don’t belong and contribute to your aesthetic of the moment on social media.

That’s why Substack and YouTube are also probably on the rise for everyone! you don’t need to hide what you have to say over there, and people are actually looking forward to it. It’s like a secret that is actually open for everyone, but they prefer to look the other way. Weird.

Chasing the illusion of perfection online makes us forget our own lives.

Today, authenticity can feel risky when everything online looks flawless. You don’t want to come off as the uncurated friend of the group, because apparently that’s a social risk online?

Social media tendencies are pressuring people to perform in real time. Ok, wow, perfect moment; but why is it that at certain social events, everybody is kinda quiet around the table or the party, yet the moment the camera is on or the flash goes off, everybody suddenly becomes the life of the party for five seconds until the story is over?

Matter of fact, this is impactful enough to wrap the article here and leave everyone with that thought. Monday, new article.