False Advertising
We all do it.
Everybody.
We do it on facebook, on instagram, twitter, on our faces. everywhere. Everyday.
Girls walk around looking extra fabulous, hair done, nails done, face done, clothes well proppa. Everything just turnt all the way up.
Then we see them at the supermarket and walk right past them because we didn’t recognize them without the easy breezy beautiful CoverGirl Brazilian hair, and the glossy acrylic nails. Without that extra layer of foundation and bronzer, longer voluminous lashes and a mile of other make-up secrets applied to give that natural look, females hide the true product. And not to mention the clothes. How do you go from dressing like Luptia to Lorde in one day?
Take her on a date and that knife and fork thing? She just isn’t about that life. Not feeling the restaurant vibe this weekend? Her last tweet was something about housewife skills and wife status, but can she cook? Or at the very least can she pass your Mom the escallions and pimento in the kitchen?
Guys do it too. On weekends you see them in that hot, freshly washed car, fade way UPP!, Vans well fresh to death and everything just picture perfect. They come knocking with the “my package is bigger than that guy’s” line. “Oh, your man offered to take you to TGI Fridays? Oh. Okay. Cool. Are you free on Sundays? Terra Nova’s breakfast buffet is the forever pree.”
Then they take you home and while they might have the equipment, they don’t really know how to use it. That car he was driving? His Dad came back from that business trip or he can’t afford to rent it anymore or his best friend let him floss for the weekend; or worse than anything else: Mr. Fresh-to-Death, Betta-Dan-All-A-Dem cannot afford to buy gas.
Even on social networking sites, we falsely advertise ourselves. We hide behind the screens of our tablets and phones and computers and we create this brand new person for ourselves. Our posts are witty, we’re extraordinary conversationalists but then our little internet friends want to meet us in person and that pizzaz, that extra originality gets left at home at the computer desk. Now all we see is the shell. People legitimately meet up to hang out and end up deciding to talk on the phone because who are we really without our little smart devices?
Gone is Mr.Always-Have-Something-To-Say and Ms-Make-A-Witty-Comment-On-Everything.
The truth is everybody is guilty of that extra profiling in one way or the other.
And nothing’s wrong with wanting to put your best you out there. Why shouldn’t you market yourself as the best?
But at what point do we draw the line between embellishing ourselves just a little to completely portraying ourselves as people we aren’t? And why do we do this? Why must we feel like being ourselves, just the way we are isn’t enough?
We could start by blaming KFC and Burger King. Always promising those sexy huge burgers or meals and when you get to the store, the meal can fit in the palm of your hand. And what is Digicel trying with that 4G internet advertisement? We all know pages load in time to our grandmother’s typing. That make-up does not make you look younger and those pills don’t drop fifty pounds overnight. We can blame our false advertising on every aspect of society.
But enough with blaming society. Enough with blaming our nuances and insecurities on the forever abstract “society”.
Where’s the truth?
Lets join the revolution.
Take a picture of your face freshly washed, chilling with no make-up on.
Females, stop sucking in your vital organs every time you’re taking a picture.
Men, stop with the empty promises already. Stop promising to support a girl when you can’t even support yourselves.
Just stop. Stop reading right now and take a look in the mirror.
Now that you’re back. Think about all the things you love about yourself.Think about all the times you found yourself thinking “Damn I’m freaking amazing.” Think about the fine print of your personality and less about the flashy pictures you show to everybody. Look at who you are. Advertise that.
Stop false advertising.