The Diary of Jane – Chapter 20: Fake your reality

Remember when something called Natural Beauty was a thing?
The thought that we are all beautiful human beings, that we are simply perfect just the way we are…
When the focus was more on the inside, on the inner self.
These days that feels more of a myth than actual truth, because everywhere you look there are filters and apps that make you look prettier, younger, slimmer or whatever you are aiming for…
Just anything that will make you look perfect on the outside.

Because everything needs to be perfect, to fit in but still stand out – your face, your body, your clothes, your home, your life…

Whatever happened to ”BE REAL, BE YOU”?
No, it’s not good enough – we need pure perfection, we can’t let anyone see the truth behind the surface.
So we fake a smile while we’re dying inside. Never let it show, never let them know…

When I was deciding on the song for this chapter I stumbled upon this little pearl, and since I truly feel that everything is connected it just had to put it in here, because it crossed my path for a reason, besides the obvious one – it makes me smile. And it features the very suitable line ”Doesn’t matter if it’s real – why should anyone care?”, which is just so true nowadays. (And also, can you hear the hidden metal vibe in the music? It would be interesting to hear it with a raw, heavier sound!)

And social media nowadays has partly turned into a jungle of fakeness, where fake accounts are set up all the time. Some as gorgeous people, some posing as musicians or other celebrities.
And they are messing with your head, telling you that they have set up this extra account to truly connect and get closer with their fans, and then a while in they will ask you to donate money…
The other week I saw this great episode ”Meet Local Girls, Part 3 (Disgruntled Danny)” on Youtube about the so called local girls and those who want to instantly get on a plane to meet him if they can just get money for the ticket, and also the gorgeous Tina Guo looking to hook up with him…(Go have a look – and make sure to also check his other episodes on his Youtube channel, he is just brilliant).

Those friend and follow requests make me laugh and get mad at the same time…like this from a few weeks ago when I accidentally confirmed a follow request on Instagram and there instantly was a direct message:

XX: ”Happy New Year (emoji emoji emoji)
I’ve seen quite a handful of your Likes and Comments on my post and I just want to go out of my way to thank those people whose comments and good wishes encourage me. <3 ”
Me: ”Yeah right” (such a nice answer from me, don´t you agree?)
XX: ”Thanks for your love and support all these years and I really appreciate you.”
I didn’t answer that, so a short while later…
XX: ”Where are you from?”
Me: ”If you really were XX, you would know where I am from” (which is true, because they managed to pick an account of someone I actually know in real life)
And by that time I got tired of this one, so I just reported and blocked.

But looking around, there are so many people who actually fall for these fake profiles, and it makes me sad. It’s just such ugly behaviour, trying to take advantage of fans and the beautiful love there is.

And all fake events for festivals and shows – where they offer tickets to an online event. This makes me really pissed off, fake companies using our love for music and our pain for the lack of shows and festivals to steal our money. And it’s so easy to fall for it if you’re not careful enough and check the source to make sure it’s authorized and the official one.

Same thing with merchandise – in some cases it’s really easy to see that it’s nothing near official, because the prints and motifs are just crappy. But then there are also those who have spent some more time and done a better job, making it look like it could be actual official band merchandise. This is where we need to make an extra check to be sure the money we spend will actually benefit the band and not some bullshit fake business.

And how annoying are those commercials when you’re playing games on your phone? Click this link and win hundreds of dollars every week, get rich just by playing this and this game, win real money (although one app seriously had the advertising text ”No risk get real moeny”)…yeah, right.

Oh, and does anybody remember Threatin – the US ”band” who did a European tour on the basis of a fake online fanbase and played empty venues….? Yeah, it’s just so stupid I don’t even want to think about it.

And all the fake news floating around…just make me sick and tired, so – no, not going there, we all get enough of that as it is.

I am just wondering whatever happened to honesty and being real?
Isn’t it weird how it can be easier to tell yourself lies, and say that everything is good and that the pain you carry just isn’t there, that you feel nothing inside…? Because what would they say if they really knew? What would they say if you gave them YOU? Does the thought scare you, or do you feel confident enough to invite the world in?

And when you think about it – even a fake smile can lead you to a real one, all it takes is time and enough practice… So, if it’s too hard to start on the inside, then we just have to do it the other way, and then maybe in the long run there will be more true beauty on this planet. Step by step.