Typical SLOHS sophomore Sofia Ballesreos opens TikTok to watch her favorite influencers, who might not be telling the truth on social media. Photo courtesy Loujayn Chafroud.

  Most people at San Luis Obispo High School have social media, with everyone always scrolling and posting, one can only wonder how real their lives are on these platforms.

  The truth is, they rarely present themselves truthfully, but they should. Whether it’s our peers or popular influencers, social media is a breeding ground for lies and insecurities. Especially when it comes to big influencers, false information is hard to escape from.

  “There are a lot of influencers who start their page healthy but end up promoting something that doesn’t work at all and is just for views,” said sophomore Sofia Ballesteros.

  While some students are busy falling for the lies and fake content made by content creators, others are busy lying to themselves. Whether it’s to gain attention from a certain person or fish for compliments, many teens spread false information about their lives.

  “If [students] wanna be the popular kind of people, they might lie so they can get into popular groups and be special,” said sophomore Ava Navarro.

   Others take lying on social media a step further, claiming they have illnesses or other issues for views and clicks.

  “Some people pretend to have issues while they really don’t, so they can get attention drawn to them and for people to care for them,”  said sophomore Levi Hastings.

  There have been countless instances on the internet of people lying about experiences and real problems that other people struggle with, just so they can gain attention or make money out of getting famous. This kind of behavior might not be seen as harmful, but it can undermine the real issues viewers may be facing.

  That being said, social media originally began as a fun, lighthearted space. A lot of platforms started as sites to share numerous fun photos of people and their friends.

  “I think the idea of social media is really good. It would be great to have a place where no one really took you seriously. Humans, however, ruin everything. If people didn’t lie so much and pick and choose what they post to make everything look perfect, then maybe teens and the world as a whole would be less insecure and a little more fun,” said sophomore Cadence Flickinger

  If people can collectively agree to stop taking everything so seriously, loosen up, and stop lying on social media, perhaps the sites can return to their original purpose. 

  Unfortunately, since lying has proved to be lucrative on the internet, this seems unlikely. SLOHA students should take it upon themselves not to engage in dishonwar behavior online, whether that’s consuming media full of paid promotions, believing lies influencers tell, or spreading their own.

 It’s no wonder people rely on filters and photo editing to stand out. The social media landscape is so saturated with both users and information that, like any high school or office, it’s become a competitive social environment. 

Source: news.uga.edu