a thing about being “real” or “authentic” on social media: you can’t properly analyze this without accounting for the way in which the the medium itself distorts and shapes the way you are perceived. This predates social media, this is a challenge with all mediums

it’s helpful to begin with the realisation that it’s very difficult to be “real” even in like, your personal relationships. We have to define what that even means. Accurately transmitting inner state to recipient? If so, many people aren’t “real” even with their own families

and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In a certain sense I am more “real” with you on Twitter than I am, say, with my mum — again this is if we’re talking about “accurate transmission of inner state”. But oho, it gets complicated, doesn’t it? Bc 1. inner states are complicated,

2. not everyone needs to know everything, privacy is a legitimate human need and concern

3. it’s normal for people to be multifaceted, have doubts and uncertainties, be hesitant about defining internal state... it’s real to not be totally real, it’s authentic to be inauthentic

when you really dig into it I’ve often found that “authenticity” is like...

40% the absence of incompetence and bad models (“be yourself” is really “be not not-yourself”)

60% a subtle sort of gatekeeping re: cultural norms about what is acceptable. Authenticity is political

If I were “totally myself” online, ie if I posted every thought without thinking, it would overwhelm a lot of people, & it would also mislead them, because when you experience me as a stream of tweets, there’s a way in which you’re likely to experience that differently than I do

I have found with experience - and this is something I’ve learned from writing and from music - that if you have lots of practice and if you move fast, there’s a certain “not not-yourself” magic that springs forth when you move a little too quickly to think and plan ahead

but again, am I not myself when I think and plan ahead? I could argue that sometimes that’s when I’m most myself. You see how this whole game is kind of rigged. But also not. It is what it is. It’s infinitely fascinating. I genuinely enjoy it and I think it comes through