Stop Faking It & Start Keeping It Real: Social Media vs. Real-Life Authenticity

Social media is a thing. For some more than others, but, nonetheless, a thing! The time has come to check ourselves. Connecting with your authentic self instead of curated content is calling, and I think it’s time to answer. No Highlighted reels, clever camera angles, image editing, or filters required.
The social media persona is often very different from who people are in real life. And the boundary between the two is getting blurrier, affecting the perception of reality and ourselves.
Quick question. Are we living life embracing individuality and authenticity or submerged in digital deception within the land of likes, view counts, and empty scrolling?
Whatever your answer to that is, giving yourself permission to feel, intimately connect with yourself and others, and radically embody everything you are outside of a screen is a major player in answering the call of authenticity. Please don’t send it to voicemail.
Sure, it’s absolutely easy peezy to become trapped in entertaining the comfortable, cushion-seated escapade down the digital rabbit hole, but lacking awareness to exercise attunement in real relationships with self and others in the world robs us of presence, depth, and connection that can’t be cultivated within the realms of false reality.
Let’s dive in. If we’re really keeping it real with ourselves, connecting with self outside of cyberspace is where we truly can create a genuine space to really hone in on the values of our true, whole, human identity.
Not for nothin’, but following our own hearts, unapologetic truths, and inner/moral compass is better than following the breadcrumbs of any influencer or content creator.
Hard stop here for a reality check. The idea of entertaining folks who hardly post failures and only create appealing content to lure us into the lollapalooza of a smoke-and-mirrors. Metaverse gives us a false sense of reality, and we may need to snap out of it.
Golden nugget note to my personal, authentic, journey-loving self: Wholeness and authenticity are what you discover when you get fully vulnerable, honest, and present…offline. It feels essential to remind myself of that truth and to share it with you.
I’m just here hoping we continue to learn to get real with ourselves toward the direction of authenticity minus any programmed path.
Here’s to trusting the process of authenticity without having to post it. Because our real-life presence is our power. You know, the authentic one stepping and growing into the deepening of our true selves. Yeah, that one.
I hope we can be intentional and cognizant about walking into more of our authentic selves instead of analog ones.
False narratives of sweet social media nothings are always knocking. However, for personal reasons, I’m pretty sure I’ll be busy shining brightly and authentically for the foreseeable future. One foot in front of the other. Walking the trail with you!
Xx Jazzy
Words by Jasmín (Jazzy) Nelson
Feature Image from Adobe Stock
Article Originally Appeared in Love Happens Volume 6