When life becomes content

Today a dear friend of mine posted a brain dump on his Instagram story.

“Ever since we started sharing our lives online, we’ve raised our standards. Better habits, better routines, better aesthetics. And in some ways, that’s great. We want to be better—train harder, eat healthier, develop a stronger mindset. But at the same time, we also want others to see that we’re doing better. That’s where the illusion begins.”

And this damn near sent me spiralling across the room. Because it suddenly became glaringly obvious to me, even in my own pursuits, that beneath that push for self-improvement is an undeniable layer of performance. It’s not just about being better; it’s about being seen as better.

Authenticity, ironically, has become a formula. The morning routine vlog (which, even if we’re not filming, we’re performing as if we are), the minimalist workspace, the "soft" yet strategic personal branding—it all follows a script. A script we, in turn, all follow too.

Wake up early, drink your greens, hit the gym, smash your PB, build your side hustle, curate your feed, prep your meals, optimise your sleep, optimise your entire life. Because otherwise, you’re not doing it right. But when everyone is following the same script, does any of it actually feel authentic?

When life becomes content

“Even things that should be deeply personal, like health and gratitude that are curated, packaged, and sold as part of a brand. Major life events have become content opportunities. Getting engaged, moving overseas, achieving a milestone, these moments aren't just lived, they're turned into reels, photo dumps, and story times!”

At a certain point, the experience itself feels secondary to how it will be shared. And when every moment is an opportunity for engagement, the pressure to frame, polish, and perfect it can be exhausting. Social media doesn’t actually showcase life anymore. It shapes expectations of what life should be.

And if your reality doesn’t fit within that framework, it’s easy to feel like you’re falling behind or not doing it right.

The most vulnerable audiences absorb this the hardest. If the internet tells you that success looks like a certain aesthetic, lifestyle, or mindset, you’ll chase it, even if it doesn’t actually align with what makes you happy. That’s what’s got us messed up. No one ever even arrives at the finish line because the goalposts keep moving. The next trend, the next habit, the next self-improvement wave is always right around the corner.

The real trade-off

Raising personal standards isn’t the issue – obviously this is a good thing for the collective. Growth is a good thing. But when improvement is always public facing, does it lose its meaning? And if you choose not to participate in the performance, do you risk fading into the background?

If no one sees your progress, does it still count? If you don’t document your biggest moments, did they even happen? And the biggest question of all—if authenticity itself is curated, is anything actually real?

I need to sit down, y’all.

Here’s my take: the answer is simpler than we think. Yes. It still counts. Your progress is real even if it’s not polished for an audience. Your experiences have value even if they’re not optimised for engagement.

The most meaningful moments in life are often the ones that don’t fit neatly into a content strategy.

The trick is reminding yourself of that every once in a while. Pinch yourself, break out of the matrix, and know that who you are—offline, unfiltered, and unperformed—is already enough. You’re doing your damn best and that’s as good as you can do.

-Sophie, Writer