Look perfect even if you’re empty inside.
The brightest trap of the modern age: Image.
People no longer care who you are only how you look.
Clothes, filters, brands, confident poses…
All part of the display.
But behind every polished image, there’s often a hollow soul hiding.
In American Psycho, Patrick Bateman is the perfect symbol of this obsession.
A flawless suit, sculpted body, exclusive restaurants, luxury business cards all to prove he exists.
But in truth, Bateman does not exist at all.
His identity is an empty shell shaped by society’s approval.
His image is perfect, his soul is shattered.
And when that illusion cracks, only violence comes out because a hollow self can only feel alive through destruction.
Today, we live the same scene online.
Filtered faces, status driven worth, confidence measured by followers…
We are not expressing ourselves anymore we are selling a version of ourselves.
We’ve become our own PR agencies.
And the cruel irony is: The more we show, the less we are.
In philosophy, this is the conflict between being and appearance.
As Heidegger wrote, humans stopped producing essence and began producing image.
The real face has been replaced by a photogenic mask.
And those who can’t remove it are slowly drowning inside their own minds.
If you constantly seek validation, think about who you’ll be when it disappears.
Because the day your image collapses, all that’s left is you.
And that’s the day you’ll finally see who you truly are.
📖 Author’s Note:
The mind shines not through appearance but through essence.
Don’t try to prove yourself.
Try to know yourself.