Social Media Is a UI for Fake Peace

Scroll.

Everything looks calm.
Nice photos. Happy people. Latte art. Wins.
No one’s spiraling. No one’s behind.
Everyone’s… fine.

Or at least, that’s how it looks.

Swipe.

The algorithm serves the same kind of peace on repeat.
Tidy desks. Soft sunlight. Healthy bodies.
Relationships with no mess. Emotions with no edge.

Feels safe. But it’s a simulation.

Post.

We join the performance.
Crop the chaos out.
Rewrite the caption 4 times to make sure it sounds “okay.”
Mute the part of us that’s panicking.

Hit publish. Get a few likes.
Cool. We’re stable again.

Refresh.

Behind the feed, everything’s still moving.
Unread texts. Avoided conversations. Bills. Breakups. Burnout.
It doesn’t go away. It just goes quiet.
Buffered like lag.

Comment.

We think engagement = connection.
We think presence = “typing…”
But it’s mostly just noise.
No one really says the thing they’re feeling. Not out loud.

Pin.

Over time, the feed turns into one big moodboard of fake peace.
No one posts their spiral.
No one shows the moment the mask slips.

And then one day -- someone snaps.
Or disappears. Or ghosts the group chat.

The peg breaks. Just like a stablecoin when the math stops working.

Unstable doesn’t pretend.

No simulation. No vibe curation.
It lets the volatility show.

The glitch.
The tremble.
The truth.

Not because it’s brave.
Just because it’s tired of lying.

Real peace doesn’t have to look aesthetic.
Sometimes it looks like a long cry and an unopened calendar.
Sometimes it looks like nothing at all.

If the feed looks too perfect, it probably is.

Maybe it’s time to post something real.
Or log off and actually feel it.

Either works.

p.s. If you’ve been holding it in, maybe let it out: Unstable Confessions