Case Study #2: Fiona

Not everything on social media is as it seems.

So we know that misinformation and fake news is all over social media and makes it very difficult to discern from facts. But that also translates to many other things on social media: the way people present themselves, the stories they tell, the things they share. Curating a fake life online almost seems like the norm.

Moving towards the digital age has brought us closer in many ways. But it has also led the way to view many people’s lives as a “highlight reel”.

This isn’t always a bad thing-- one could argue that even in real life we frequently show people our best selves and leave out the rest-- but sometimes it can disconnect us further from the human behind the screen.

It also makes it increasingly easy to fall into a comparison trap.

Comparison traps lead to jealousy and make it much easier to lash out at another person.

There’s also an important note to remember: not everything you see on social media is real, true, or interpreted correctly.

Take, for example, the case of Fiona Moriarty-McLaughlin.

In June 2020, a video of her with a power drill helping board up a window and then getting in her car to leave went viral. The video gave people on Twitter the impression that she was simply posing for Instagram clout and nothing more. Even LeBron James and Pink retweeted it.