It’s a running joke: how many selfies do you have to take to get the one that looks effortless and candid? At least 27.

It takes work to look like you’re living a life of leisure.

I'm not taking hot air balloon rides on Wednesday afternoons. I'm at work so I can pay my rent but I’m going to like your picture because it's cool and hey, good for you! I’ve known several people who have told me they had to get off of FB because it caused them anxiety. Everyone’s getting married, having a baby, buying a house, getting a promotion, breaking up, getting abs, eating at Spago, popping bottles with sparklers, while you’re in your pj’s eating ice cream and thinking about how you should really start drinking more water and get new highlights you can’t afford.

No one posts the real stuff: your kid was up at 3:30 this morning, projecting vomit and you have to be up in 2 hours to commute to work so you can deal with schmucks. There’s no, “that money I used for the light bill was rent money so now I have figure out where I’m getting the rest” post on Monday morning. Very rarely do you get the posts about eating dry cheerios (which you stole from work) in sweatpants because you can’t afford ice cream this week.

Like all the pics but also know you’re liking the ad for the life it’s representing. There’s a lot of work going on behind it...it’s not that easy to stage the shoes, bag and keys all in the same shot while smizing!

Don't stress yourself out, you're doing ok too.

Don't get caught up on Instagram or FB or anything else. We're all lying!!! It's all the best version of ourselves. We're all advertising. I'm not saying we're not happy but there's already an ulterior motive to posting: Look! This is what I'm doing and look how awesome (I am) this is. Which is fine. However, don't believe the filters. You can't contour? Me either!