I’m terrible at faking. Not with small talk, not with smiles, and definitely not in my life. If I don’t like you, you’ll know. If I admire you, you’ll feel it.

And if I think your new haircut makes you look like an electrocuted poodle, well…

I’ll do my best to soften the blow, but I can’t make any promises.

Being like that has gotten me in trouble more times than I can count.

People don‘t tend to take honesty well. 

Apparently, they like their reality framed in a glamour filter and covered with an inspirational quote. All published on social media.

The kingdom of filters and fake smiles

Ah, Instagram—the king of empty perfection. The holy land of avocado toasts that very few of us eats, morning routines that no one actually follows, and  photos that took 37 takes to get right.

It’s a world where people smile with their eyes dead inside, where every cappuccino is an absolute beauty and authenticity is as rare as a photo without FaceTune.

And now, AI is stepping in to make things even more surreal.

We’ve reached a point where influencers can be entirely artificial, where deepfake models sell skincare, and where AI-generated “personalities” have more followers than actual humans. Even our messages are starting to feel like scripted performances.

In a world like this, what even is real anymore?

why fake smiles are exhausting

But here’s the thing. As a said it many times before.

We’re exhausted.

We‘re in the era where even the coffee makers in the house are run by AI, chatbots are writing our emails, and deepfakes would probably be able to make me appear on camera more attractive than I ever would be. 

But what is it that everyone craves? 

Authenticity. 

Raw, imperfect, human connection. They don‘t want another AI influencer selling them a “daily gratitude journal“ they won’t even use. People want honesty.

People want to know that they’re not alone in their bubbles of imperfection.

That‘s why I stay away from the game.

My life doesn‘t fit a censored box.

I built my life on the real values.

My friends know I’ll tell them if they have spinach in their teeth. They know I’ll never sugarcoat advice. And the people who stick around?

They do so because they know exactly what they’re getting—me, without the filters.

In a world of perfection, strive to be authentic

So, in this age of AI-generated perfection, in this era of soulless influencer smiles and manufactured moments, I have a piece of advice for you:

Don’t be a slave to perfection.

Be real.

Because at the end of the day, authenticity is the only thing that never goes out of style.