But we are also lying to ourselvesA few weeks ago this video emerged on YouTube and struck us as very relevant. The plot takes us through the lives of a group of friends who seem to do the most of their social interactions online, even when dining together.
We see many different ways that people might distort the truth through a social media feed: The health drink that was only sipped, the trash just off-screen on the neat desk, a wig and makeup that produce a completely different person, etc.
It ends with one of the girls returning home to her boyfriend, a scene of a less than perfect relationship. However, she posts a picture of the two smiling as if nothing were wrong. When she is shooed away and is about to face this reality the “hearts” awarded her narrative give her the confirmation she needs to be contented with the lie.
The internet has been around for a while now and I think we can all agree it’s not going anywhere. Back in the day it was easy to stay anonymous, but as social media begs for more and more personal information it is natural that people might want to embellish their own story.
These little lies are far from harmless, for each such post becomes a memory that we may come to believe ourselves. The profile, as one we may never live up to, could cause us to further retreat into this imaginary world of the internet.
We must be careful not to put too much faith in our own fiction.
