What is the main way you speak out these days?

When you want to talk to a friend, what do you do? You message them.

You whip out your phone and go on Messenger, Snapchat, and maybe if you are a dinosaur, their phone number.

What is the main way we share something with the world?

Whether it be “I need a ticket to this event”, or “I am dissatisfied with this event”, or “I’d like to tell the world about my fishing trip last weekend”? We turn to Facebook, we turn to Instagram, and maybe, if we’re “being real”, we turn to… BeReal.

Is this good for you? Or is it better to find your voice face to face?

I’m talking about “face time”, not FaceTime.

What about activities like writing, drawing, running, dreaming? Screaming and talking in teams, voice to voice, and heart to heart.

Where is your voice in a world that is surrendering to iPhones and reels?

We’re not just motivated to look good. It’s easy to look better than you do in real life, both literally and physically, on Instagram. After all, we all know about the apps that exist to sharpen your features and improve the way you look. And we love it!

We love seeing ourselves that way, and we love to go to a digital jungle where everything is high-definition and free of darkness.

Yet as humans we don’t just want to look “good”. Deep down, we want to be seen for who we truly are as well. And we want to be loved for it.

Many philosophers and psychologists have noticed these two motivations at work. (to be cited as footnote: Goffman, 1959; McKenna & Bargh, 1999; Swann, 1983).

Over a decade ago, Facebook introduced the Timeline feature to ensure people don’t manipulate their own identity too far from the past. And now, BeReal is out there taking the battle to Instagram. This beast was designed to counter the falseness of Instagram, and we’ve all seen how. Out there, critics of the app say while the content is more real, it’s more mundane, more boring. And who wants boring?

It’s important to get away from yourself.

When we find our voice, we use it to shine a light on the world around us.

Maybe, we can be authentic beyond a mundane photo by using our voice on the beauty around us. Use your voice to make your dreams real, and better the community. At this moment we are most ourselves.

We feel welcome and at home in the online world these days.

Bargh, McKenna and Fitzsimmons (2002) note that people may feel more comfortable expressing themselves online rather than face to face. They may feel judged in their face-to-face network.

Let’s deal with this!

Get comfortable with your dreams and individual desires.

Feel free to make them known in the world around you.

You are to be loved.

And the world is waiting to hear what you have to say!