Is social media tiring of radical honesty?

Increasingly, creators and audiences alike feel that not every private moment needs to become a public narrative

- Anoushka Madan

Scroll through social media long enough, and in all likelihood you will find someone's life unfolding in real time. A breakup explained through a string of videos; a carousel unpacking a relationship argument; a creator narrating a difficult conversation with a friend. For years, this confessional style of posting was framed as authenticity. Being open meant being relatable. But lately, the comments sections tell a slightly different story. Under deeply personal posts, the reaction is often blunt: this could have stayed private.

For some viewers, the discomfort comes from the scale of personal disclosure online. Mumbai-based media practitioner Akshada (who only uses one name), 25, says social media once felt like a place where people mostly shared highlights from their lives. Now, she often comes across posts revealing intimate details about relationships or personal conflicts. “For that validation on social media, they reveal the most intimate parts of their life,” she says. “And sometimes it involves other people who may not even want those details shared publicly.”

What concerns her most is how easily private lives become public narratives. It could be their partner, their parents or their family members, and it may not always be consensual. “Those lines blur when you're trying to get validation online.” When that much information is shared in public, she adds, it also invites scrutiny. “Social media tends to be more negative than positive.”

Creators, however, say the decision to share personal stories is rarely as spontaneous as it appears online. Pune-based psychologist and creator Vedika Sukhatme, 29, says she still thinks of social media primarily as a workplace rather than a personal diary. “Authenticity doesn't necessarily mean that I have to put my entire life out there,” she says. “I don’t have to sell myself out completely and ruin my privacy to be authentic.”