We live in a time when people fake entire lives for strangers on the internet, but can’t tell the truth to the person sleeping right there next to them.
Filters have replaced authenticity, and performance has replaced personality. When every moment becomes content, what’s left to feel when the cameras are off?
Six months ago, this guy met his girlfriend on a dating app. Now, he’s always been suspicious of girls he’s met on dating apps, since he knows they put up their most amazing photos, and filters can be used to make you look better online than in real life.
And he has been gaslit before into believing by some girls that they look better with good makeup, lighting, and filters, but then, when he gets to meet them, he can tell it’s a lie.
“I’m a millennial guy, and my photos are as honest as they get. I have never been in a rush to get dates or felt the need to lie with my pictures,” he explained.
“I’ve been catfished a handful of times, and meeting my current GF was really no different. Her pictures looked sorta like her irl, but clearly she took some creative liberties. Regardless, we hit it off, and I never brought up her profile made up of pics from her in college (didn’t know that at the time), and for the current photos, she used a slimming filter along with the beauty face slimming filter.”
“The problem? She’s got a pretty massive following on TikTok and IG and promotes a lifestyle and positivity that’s clearly made up. She makes a lot of money lying, and people eat it up.”
His girlfriend exclusively hits the gym so she can take short little videos to then share with her audience. She pretends to be healthy by cooking broccoli, fish, and rice, which she hates, so he pretty much eats what she makes, and she gets something else.
All of his girlfriend’s videos and photos are severely edited to the point where she uses a special software program to make the pitch of her voice seem higher than it is.
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A year ago, his girlfriend posted about her weight loss journey, which she then disclosed to him was a complete lie that she had shared.
“She used a filter making her slightly larger and drank a ton of milk beforehand to look super bloated and then just casually edited videos over time looking thin,” he added.
“She lost zero weight during the time, and everyone, AND I MEAN EVERYONE, was complimenting her in the comments. She even manufactured drama in the past for views (I got robbed… and I got catcalled by the gym manager…).”
“She has like 7 videos falsely saying some guy hit on her at the gym. Not assaulted her, but like hit on her when it didn’t happen. How do I know? She told me. It gets crazy engagement and views.”
His girlfriend then goes through all of her content and monitors the comments, deleting anything that is negative or suggests she uses filters.
He could keep on telling you stories about all the lies his girlfriend sells to people, but what he’s getting at is that you should quit buying into what influencers are sharing, since it’s hardly the truth.
He’s working up the courage to ask his girlfriend to please move out of his house, but he’s afraid she’s going to flip out on him. He’s also concerned that she will post about him online and say mean things about him for the world to see.
“…Why have I been with her? She’s a sweet and funny girl. I really love the time we spend together. She’s OBSESSED with social media, though,” he continued.
“Any time we have discussed it, she gets incredibly nasty and turns it to ‘you’re just jealous because you don’t have social media.’ I literally don’t have a personal page on anything and don’t care to. I hate how this is how she makes lots of money – lying. None of it is real.”
Well, I think it’s time for him to rip the band-aid off and kick her out of his place. His next move should be to block her across the board; that way, he can’t see if she does end up posting nasty things about him to her followers.
What advice do you have for him?
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By Bre Avery Zacharski
Hi, I'm Bre, Chip Chick's CEO! I have a degree in Textile/Surface Design from The Fashion Institute of Technology, and... More about Bre Avery Zacharski
