By Upendra Mishra
BOSTON—”Is it truth or fiction?” I asked. “What difference does it make?” he replied. “Sometimes, in fact, most of the time, truth sounds like a well-crafted fictional tale. Stranger than fiction, indeed.”
I asked him to tell the whole story about this mystery man whom he did not want to name but seemed profoundly impacted by his life. And then he began like a robot:
“He was smart. I mean very intelligent. Self-made. A successful executive, working for a Fortune 500 company. In addition, he could figure out people very quickly. What were they looking for? What did they lack in their so-called fully fulfilled life?
He also had an innate ability to give people what they wanted to listen, what they were looking for—at least initially; or through magnificent words originating from his lips. He would make people wonder how they would live their life without him.
His image in social media was that of a sage, a revolutionary, a selfless worker, caring, righteous, and someone who cared about society, fought against injustice. He could not stand even a tiny bit of vice or evil. His persona had built an immense following not only on the social media platforms, but also in the communities and social circles he lived in.
He also perfected the art of being liked at gatherings and social events. This also had made many of his acquaintances envious of his grandiloquent persona. Even the jealous folks who disliked him often secretly lurked on his social media posts. He had become a buzz, thanks to social media.
He marvelously used social media to empower himself, or social media empowered him. He could say anything in the name of the caring and righteous persona he had created of himself. And by anything, I mean anything—bashing his critics, criticizing people who were not doing good work, and not even sparing hardworking and modern women who did not pass his test of perfection in character or anything he deemed unacceptable to his own personage.
Why? Because he believed that he was the warrior, the innocent icon, the hero, the sage, the caregiver, the lover, and you name it. He created this persona on social media, and then started to believe in his newly created mistaken person more than his real self.
As he started to flourish on social media and gaining social stature, his own sense of self-importance exploded. He became obsessed with power and the perception of his so-called success. He felt entitled to recognition, to comment on any issue of the moment. He started to seek people who were special, powerful, or important. The arrogance, however, caught up with him soon. His desire for constant admiration became an incessant disease and his ego began to root deeply.
He believed that there was no one as successful and influential on community and societal matters as he was. Later, the news started to spread that his health was deteriorating rapidly. His own family started to distance themselves from him despite his ailments.
One day news of his death spread like wildfire. He had died in a local hospital after months of hospitalization. The expectation was that there will be hundreds of people at his funeral to pay tribute to this so-self-styled great man.
Sadly, only five people, including his family, showed up for his memorial service.” Then, he stopped.
I asked: How could this happen? Why such a tragic end?
“This gentleman started to believe, live and experience his false self that he had fabricated on social media,” he said. “The truth was exactly the opposite. Those of us who knew him warned him to return to reality. Probably, it was too late. He believed his Social Media mates more than a few true friends he still had left.”
What happened at his funeral? Why did no one show up—except a few?
“We really thought hundreds will show up because of his following on the social media and his connections with thousands of people. But it was disappointing to see just five people. The bottom line, I think, is that he was not connected to anyone at a personal level, and no one was connected with him either. Sometimes we can be blindsided by likes, comments and flattery on social media.”
I sat mulling over what I had just heard about this gentleman. Truth really can be stranger than fiction, and how easily can social media transform one’s real self into an imagined person.
(Mr. Mishra is managing partner of the Waltham, MA-based integrated inbound marketing and PR firm The Mishra Group. He writes about his three passions: marketing, scriptures, and gardening.)
