How many of you have heard of the phrase “Fake it til you make it”? For those of you who are not familiar with the definition, it means “portray yourself like the person you always wanted to become” or “you are what you think.” I used to love that phrase – it motivated me to become more confident. Back when I was very reserved, didn’t know how to present myself in public, didn’t know what to say when I met new people during events and didn’t even know how to express my feelings. “Fake it til you make it” was my mantra. It worked. I walked to every event with the mindset that ‘I am the person I’ve always wanted to become – smart & full of confidence.’

Nowadays I hear a lot of people stand by this mantra too. Especially to ‘make it’ in social media. But somehow now I’m getting a different meaning from that phrase. People translate it as ‘lets FAKE it for the gram, as long as others think we made it.’ This behavior is the result of the toxic pressure of society in social media. Everything seems to be glamorous, extravagant, and full of beautiful things. We know we are obsessed with social media, but we don’t know how to manage the challenges that come with using them.

I read a lot of stories on people who are willing to fake it for social media. One of them is the airplane story. This person took the economy class; once reached the destination, she waited for everyone to leave the aircraft so that she could take pictures in the business class seat. I don’t know what her intention is, but if the goal is to upload it on social media so that the person perceived as living a luxurious life, is very saddening. There’s nothing wrong in taking pictures wherever we want, but make sure our intention is right. Always remind ourselves not to live a double life. Trust me; it is easy for us to switch our view & get influenced in this digital era.

Social media can be positive and toxic at the same time. It depends on what we prioritize and what values we have in our life. What I’m trying to say here is; Don’t fake it til you make it. Work hard until you make it. Do your best in everything. Face every problem that comes your way. Learn from it. Do better. Repeat.