In the realm of social media, it has now become remarkably easy to show the positive sides of one’s life and conceal one’s misfortunes. This is especially true for people with an audience; influencers everywhere have taken it upon themselves to showcase the fun parts of their lives while masking their struggles. This, although deceiving, has become something the public expects, rather than pushing for true authenticity.

  “I think leaders have the responsibility to be positive. People will do something negative, but because they’re a public figure, it will cause a ripple effect. Since they’re in the spotlight, their decisions can be taken way out of proportion by their followers,” Estephanie Mendez (11) said.

  In the fight for transparency and authenticity, society has contradicted itself by expecting influencers to hide the unappealing parts of their lives. Some believe that the famous have an unprecedented responsibility to be positive and outgoing, but it is unrealistic to expect this of celebrities when it can’t be expected of one’s self.

  “I don’t think influencers have to be outgoing all the time at all. Yes, it’s important to be a positive figure to your audience, but everyone has bad days. Everyone suffers, and it would be illogical to expect celebrities to hide this,” Emily Luong (10) said.

  Positivity is a very important characteristic needed in any influencer; however, it is also important that these influencers remain human after gaining an audience. Emotions—good or bad—are a key factor in everyone’s lives. Hiding negative emotions to an audience can portray a sense of perfection that can be dangerous for a person to strive for.

  “I always see famous people on social media going to exotic places and posting about how great their lives are; they always seem to be on a high. It makes me feel like I need that to be happy too,” Katrina Do (11) said.

 Platforms like YouTube and Instagram make it easy to portray a perfect life on social media. However, it raises expectations for the public, and when these expectations aren’t met, it creates the idea that one’s life is awful compared to everyone else’s. Some may even think their negative emotions are wrong, as they don’t see enough public figures expressing theirs. So, although it is important to be outgoing as a public figure, it is equally important to express the emotions that everyone feels.