The sociological law that states the harder a person tries to appear "authentic" on social media, the more performative their behavior actually becomes. It refers to the irony that looking "effortlessly messy" (e.g., photo dumps, crying selfies, no-makeup posts) often requires more staging, curation, and editing than a polished photo.
Her "I just woke up" selfie took 45 minutes to get the lighting right. That is the Performality Paradox in action.
by nicklenova February 3, 2026
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