Are you living a perfect life online?

There is a fine line between filtering and fakeness. We portray the aspects of our lives on social media that we want to be seen, but there’s a major flaw with that. Real life cannot be edited.

In my opinion most people on social media are seeking the creation of a life that seems more perfect to profile onlookers. A lot of social media users only post the happy and desirable stuff. Now just to be clear I am not advocating for the removal of fluffy, cute or happy things off the internet, I love a good cat video on YouTube as much as the next person. I’m talking about those people who only post selfies where they look runway ready, I’m sure you know the type. People want to look their best, and although I perfectly understand this, the sheer level of cropping, rotating and filtering we go to is making us far removed from ourselves.

Both good and bad days happen

A lot of people live by this way of social networking, and are always trying to promote their lives to be as flawless and glamorous as possible. This is why they will upload a collage of their new handbag but won’t mention that they stepped in dog poop on the way home. These people can’t achieve perfection in real-life because no-one can.

I don’t blame people for being this way or using social media for this purpose, but there’s a darker side to striving for a perfect online persona. See, everyone has bad days, they just happen, it’s a part of life. However, now with social media a huge factor in our lives, I personally don’t think these two elements mix well. Actually I think they don’t mix at all. I’m pretty sure we’re all guilty of checking our phones and social media a lot more than we’d like to admit to, but I ask you to limit this when you’re having a bad day.

The last thing you need when you’re stuck on the motorway waiting to be towed away in the rain is your ex “checking in” themselves at the airport for their two week holiday in Madrid. You don’t need to see that your co-worker got 114 likes on their new profile picture and then wonder why you only got 12 and start questioning why your best friend wasn’t one of them.

Striking a balance

Here’s my advice for everyone that uses social networking. First of all you can still edit and filter your pictures but just try not to lose yourself along the way. I’m just encouraging you all to be a more candid version of yourself, not for others but for you.

Spend more time doing what you love instead of trying to achieve “likes”, because at the end of the day people are going to want to hear about your life as it was lived, not as it was depicted. In ten years time you will be able to tell people your most cherished stories, but no-one will remember you Snapchat story of the party you spend more time recording than enjoying.

Remember to spend some time recharging by unplugging yourself from the online world, and get out into the real world. It might not always be perfect, but  there’s a lot more to “like”.