What does it mean to be real? These days especially on social media you see people say things like ‘I am just being real’ or referring to another person as not being real, perhaps because of a mannerism or some other thing like that.
A lot of people put on fake accents and then claim that’s just how they speak. They may very well be tailoring their speech to the particular company they are in, not that they necessarily speak in such a manner. Can such people be described as not being real? Being true to themselves or natural?
Who determines who and what is real? Is there a standard of measurement for it? The very popular show, Big Brother is on-going and the housemates were recently advised to stay real as what is inside usually comes out. Is it possible that being ‘fake’ is just a way of appealing to people?
The Next Edition posed these questions to some people, and the responses we got were as varied as the respondents themselves.
“To be real means to be one’s self with no atom of being fake. It could mean doing things the way you desire it be done without trying to impress anyone.” – Morgan Morgan, Food Scientist.
“To be real for me means to be myself. No forming, no copying, no succumbing to social media pressure, no fake life.” – Matilda Auoad, Entrepreneur.
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“Real is relative. For me being myself and saying my mind the way it comes is being real. If I’m in a gathering of close friends and I want to be real to myself, I’ll probably fart around, walk about in my undies and make silly jokes because that’s the real me. If I’m in a big brother house, I can still do all of that but with a little bit of caution plus I won’t save anyone I hate. That’s being real.”
“Anyway, having experience with being real has taught me to tone it down because people don’t appreciate it when someone is real. They feel you are a little too much and somewhat a narcissist. But that’s a fact, to be real, you have to be yourself to a point where you think, I’m cool, everybody should know how cool I am.” – Ajumoke Nwaeze. Singer & Content developer.
“I think being real is quite broad and not so simple. Your persona with your family and close friends will be quite different from acquaintances. That does not mean that both personas aren’t real.” – Elton Ladi, Entrepreneur.
“To me being real means being me and not trying to be who I am not.” – Didi Dave, Travel Agent
“Being real to me means being you. Not bending over backwards, calling a spade a spade, doing things without looking over your shoulders to check who’s watching, that’s no eye service.” – Imeneke Ennang, Pilot.
Being real can be said to be dependent on an individual, what he or she believes to be true at any point in time. Unless it becomes too obvious that one is living a lie, we can all be our version of ‘real.’
