You'd Look Better as a Ghost

by Joanna Wallace

If I wanted to surround myself with needy, self-pitying morons wittering on about their feelings, I’d join Facebook.

“Is that how you feel?” I ask. “Invisible?” “Yes,” she answers simply. “I think that once you pass a certain age, the world stops looking at you. Until one day, nobody sees you at all.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not a serial killer.” Returning the smile, I get in the car and wonder how many serial killers in the history of serial killing have used that line. I might try it.

“Is it possible that a person can present an image to the world that is so completely at odds with who they truly are?”

Every day, millions of ordinary people become locked in a relentless battle to accumulate “likes” on social media, never stopping long enough to question whether they still like the person they’re pretending to be.