All THE WORLD'S A STAGE

Are you living the 'reel' in real life? We take a look at why you're doing this and how you can stop

- AMY LEHNER

Do you have a colleague who carries her Stanley cup everywhere - and matches her outfit to it? What about the friend who won't let anyone start eating until she's photographed what's on everyone's plate? Or the one who calculates the protein intake of every meal and posts updates on 'leg day' at the gym? Perhaps that friend is you? Following the latest TikTok trend or checking the 'gram to see how many likes you have seems like harmless fun. But it can be extremely toxic if it gets out of hand.

For some people, an obsession with presenting the perfect life on social media will begin to affect their real lives. Maybe that friend who takes beautifully posed pics of herself at an event isn't actually having fun because she's too busy trying to find her good angle and just the right lighting. Or perhaps the gym bro just wants to eat some chicken wings but knows it won't fit into his clean-eating ethos. This is when online validation slips into real life and warps our perception of our true selves.

SEEKING AUTHENTICITY

An article in Frontiers in Sociology by Callan Dunn and Nicky Falk looks at the idea of performativity and authenticity in South Africa. They spoke to 10 Gen Z 'micro-celebrities,' each with at least 10 000 followers. (They all remained anonymous in the article.) These young women all go out of their way to appear perfect online - good hair, flawless makeup and glam lives - but also claim that being 'real' appeals to their followers.