Social Media

.. And the Masks we put on

There is a temptation that everyone faces in life, and that is to pretend to be someone you really aren’t. With social media becoming an integral part in everyone’s social experience, it’s hard not to believe your life really doesn’t reflect the highlight reel you put up.

Each one of us wears a mask. This mask allows us to deal with the gap between what is reality and what is fiction. This mask helps us believe the gap between what we say and what we do is much smaller than it really is. I mean, be honest, who wants to be a hypocrite? The fact is, is that we are all hypocrites and the gap between what we say and what we actually do is much wider than what we would like to believe.

The problem Social Media creates is that people begin believing their lives are their highlight reels. We tell ourselves this lie until we believe it to be a truth. The saying goes, ignorance is bliss, but what if this is willful ignorance? What if we choose to wear the mask knowingly because we don’t want to deal with what’s behind it?

In the digital revolution we find ourselves in, beware of the temptation to believe you are the mask that you put on.

Learn to love yourself, scars and all. Take off the mask and confront yourself. Stop trying to curate your life, because the intimacy you desire isn’t found in the stories you tell yourselves.