We are all fictional people here

And I don't mean only here in Steem. I mean everywhere. Internet, work, home. In life.

@galenkp wrote a post that got me thinking a bit further.
https://steempeak.com/philosophy/@galenkp/give-him-a-mask-and-he-will-tell-you-the-truth

Sure we all have different kind of personas. Some people are more honest with their personas than others but nevertheless, when needed, we dress up and use the persona we have that is needed in different kind of occasions. Work, home, friends, parents, with children. We are ourselves, but act differently when our surroundings change. That's normal. If you are lucky, you don't have to act something you are not. You are you, but a bit different. Hopefully the best version of you that suits to that occasion.

And then of course there are those that deliberately try to be someone or something else to gain something they want. Especially in social media. They do it because they can and because it's so easy to lie. And I don't mean creating different accounts to your different interests. I mean deliberately lying and pretending that you are something you are not. Perhaps you only show a polished outer shell of yourself or your home. Acting happier than you are. You might believe that if you pretend to be happy, you eventually end up being happy. Or just because you want to give a successful appearance of yourself. So that you don't have to admit that you are not satisfied to your life. Or perhaps because you have the need to make other people jealous. And what better place to do that than all the numerous social media places.

Sure there are also those who try their best to be as true as they can. Some might stop taking perfect photos or wearing makeup all the time. Some perhaps humorously revealing how weird the perfect social media updates look like when you are striking poses and jumping, and then there are the ones that take everything to a whole different level. Like Celeste Barber.

Photo: CC BY-SA 4.0 - Insaneworks

But even if you do not try to be anything else than what you think you are. Even if you do not try to present yourself in any particular way. Even if you try your best to be as honest as you can, you still are a fictional character to that someone on the other side of the earth. To all those who have never met you in person. You probably are somewhat fictional to some of the people who have met you. And you might even be fictional to the people that are around you every day.

You and me. Us. All of us are fictional characters. More or less.

I am what I want to be here, not what I am. I am my opinion of myself. And to you I'm not the same person. To you I am what you think I am. No matter how much I would try to explain to you what I am, or what I want you to think that I am, you never share the same opinion of me as I do of myself. You have a certain opinion of who and what I am. So do I have of you. It's based on the texts and the photos that I've seen of you. The things that you write and the things that you don't write about. Also what you photograph and what you choose to leave out of those pictures.

So I have my opinion on what you are and even if I tried my very best, I can't help thinking further. Perhaps you do that too? You think: "Oh, I'm sure that person wouldn't like this" or "This is like made for that certain one that I know!" And we might be right on our assumptions, but as they are only assumptions, that makes the person I am thinking about a fictional character. It's not you. It's a reflection of you in my mind. 90% accurate? Perhaps only 9% accurate.

Everyone here are people who you think they are, not what they actually are. And what they are in your mind, is tied to the things that you have experienced during your life. You may try to be as objective as you can, but still things happen in your mind. In your brain. You see a picture, read a post, perhaps few more, know where the person lives, ask them something and start forming a story in your head. A life for that person you haven't met. And before you know it, your mind has filled in the gaps, the missing links and tales that the other person never even mentioned. You may even think that you actually read or heard the thing from somewhere. The thing that you now think is a fact. The thing that your mind has created because stories are easier if they are consistent and if they have the kind of logic in it that your brain thinks is logical.

I am mostly fiction to you and you are a fictional character to me.

Photo: CC BY-SA 4.0 - Insaneworks