Manufactured Authenticity - day 66

There is a TikTok trend going around that I truly hate. The whole premise of the one minute video is to "expose" what was really going on behind the scenes of a perfect Instagram photo. Girls will show themselves posing in a skimpy bikini on the bow of ship, and they will voice over something like "Oh my gosh, okay so this day was NOTHING like it seems. We were with all these OLD MEN on this boat who were SO PERVY and we had to fight them all off day..."

Yeah bitch, we all already knew lol 

Manufactured authenticity or realness is so much worse to me than just about anything. Posting a picture of yourself looking BOMB in a bikini, then capturing it with something like, "clearly, I don't say no to queso!" is so fucking lame. You look great and wanted to post the pic, do it with pride. Slap some fire emojis as your caption and own it. 

I see this with couples all.the.time. They post pictures with these horribly authentic captions that are so cringe. I saw one that a husband posted on his wife's birthday, "I know I'm hard on you, I know I push you to be everything you can be, and I'm your biggest critic. But I'm also your biggest fan." VOM. You couldn't just say "happy birthday babe" like the rest of us? You don't owe anyone your realness or weird relationship dynamic in a caption. 

This all stems from people trying to rebrand and show they are "relatable". But hear me out.... stop. Just stop. I see influencers, celebrities, girls I grew up with, and even my fellow teachers do this. 

When you post your family vacation pictures, you don't need to tell us how treacherous your flight was, or how challenging it is to travel with kids. We all already know, we've all been in an airport before lol. You don't owe us that explanation under the guise of being "real". Just say- Amazing Trip to the Cape with the Fam! Because I'm sure it was. 

When you post a picture on your anniversary, you don't have to tell us how your marriage has been through hell and back and you can't believe you've made it this far. We all already know, marriage is fucking hard. Don't air your dirty laundry to be relatable. Just say- Happy Anniversary my love!

When you post a picture of you child looking precious as hell, you don't need to tell us what a "challenging, stubborn, chaotic" kid they are. We all already know, we've been around children before. You don't need to drag on your baby in the name of being honest. Just say- My handsome man! My lovely lady! 

You don't owe anyone the behind the scenes details. Share your highs and hide your lows. If people think your life is perfect, they are a moron. We all know life is hard and none of us get out alive. Post your pic, hype yourself up, and save the truth, realness, and authenticity for your real life friends and family.