What if I told you that I am a chronic liar? It’s true, I’m afraid. You see, lying isn’t just limited to an entirely made up false statement. It can be more innocent, a white lie, as it is fondly known.
On a daily basis, I find myself telling the truth with a few of the details either made up or left out. These are lies by omission and emission on a small scale. Such lies permeate the very social fabric of our culture and it is almost certain that you are guilty as I. Are such little lies harmless, though?
Many times, the smiling picture you see of me on Facebook only shows a glimpse into my life, a staged glimpse. The girl you think you know from my profile tells you that everything is ok, under control, and above all perfect.
You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? It can be a brisk “I’m fine” to a “How are you?”. It’s stretching the truth to make life seem more bearable or exciting. It is exaggerating for the sake of stirring envy about the wonderful life I supposedly have.
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Not only am I engaged in monitoring how I look to people, but so is everybody else on this planet, especially, on social media. Everyone values their image. Statistically speaking, the profiles you see on Facebook are just as staged, filtered, and redacted as your own. The romantic couple sharing their gag-worthy post about their love could have just had a massive row behind closed doors.
Those perfect lives aren’t as perfect as they seem. That image you are striving so hard to attain is imaginary, just like the fake photoshopped images that surround you every day. That gorgeous picture of your friend on vacation? I bet they took it 20 times to get it just right.
A recent survey by a British digital marketing company showed that nearly 75% admitted to lying on their social media accounts. Only 18% could confidently say that their profiles were an accurate representation of them.
Here in the U.S, the statistics aren’t any better. CNN recently did a poll that shows 1 out of every four individuals lies on their profiles. With the truth evasive, how can I and how can you become genuine and authentic?
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We can realize that at the end of the day, no matter how beautiful, athletic, active, and smart we put ourselves out to be, we are left staring at our true selves in the mirror. We can either continue lying our way through life and envy those around us, or be authentic and enjoy our real successes and feel our downs deeply.
No one said being authentic is easy and when you see your friends posting about how exciting their life is, you may feel that itch to tell people yours is just as well. So how can you be more genuine? How can you stop the chronic little lies?
Connect With Real People
It is easy to lie to hundreds of people on our profile page and avoid letting anyone close enough to know the real truth. Letting your partner see the real you or a dear friend know what is going on in your own life is a good way of deterring lying.
You have to admit it would be kind of embarrassing to stretch the truth when there is someone who knows the truth.
Be Truthful
You know the saying, “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all?” Replace the word “nice” with “truthful”. If you can’t say something truthful, don’t say it at all.
Life isn’t a contest, and there is no need to compete with your friends on social media. Just stop seeking out extra attention and learn to be happy for your friends when they share their victories and successes online and in person.
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My Resolution
I don’t enjoy being a chronic liar when it comes to my online image. I resolve to dump the virtual persona and be real. You too can choose to stop being a chronic liar, I know I’m planning to do so. I’ve realized there is a difference between being insecure and narcissistic vs. confident and authentic.
Real friends will want to see the real me, and they only want me to share content that has value not fluff. So I’m going to limit those worthless updates and limit how many selfies I post per day.
Instead of pretending to be better than I am, I am going to use my energy actually to get better than I am, stronger. What about you?
Please Share With Your Friends and Family!
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