
“Lifefaker.com makes faking perfection easy” - olifrost
http://lifefaker.com/?=HackerNews
======
timdorr
Note that this is itself a fake site. It's put up by
[https://sanctus.io/](https://sanctus.io/) and clicking on any Buy button will
redirect you to this Medium post: [https://sanctus.io/social-media-mental-
health-b1803b6b475f](https://sanctus.io/social-media-mental-
health-b1803b6b475f)

~~~
SlowRobotAhead
The best satire is the one where you can’t immediately tell. This nailed that.

~~~
morganvachon
Even the logo is spot on. This is dark satire indeed, predicting the near
future where someone out there actually will offer such a service, and
millions will buy into it. This would be a perfect fit in the world of _Black
Mirror_.

~~~
derefr
As both a speculative fiction author and an entrepreneur, new ideas sometimes
have me on the fence for whether I should make them into businesses, or into
dystopian novellas.

~~~
itronitron
this would be hard to scale as you would probably need to generate new images
for each client, but if you could auto-generate imagery per client that would
help (still the subscription needs to be priced higher)

~~~
Double_a_92
The "influencer" would just have to take a lot of pictures for each event.
Maybe the same from different angles...

Could easily generate hundreds of photos from one "session".

------
siavosh
Having been at the tail end of the age group that missed the normalization of
'likes' as a legitimate asset to accumulate, I'm curious what the turning
point was when people no longer felt self conscious to openly admitting to
collecting these virtual assets? Startups, media campaigns etc, we understood
why they were doing it, money. But for most social-media users, that's
obviously not the case.

I'll admit, when I had a facebook account I felt vulnerable when a post of
mine didn't get too many likes but it was considered 'lame' to worry about it.
Just a few years ago, it was considered a personality flaw to be preoccupied
with likes and follower counts. Now it seems it's a primary and openly
admitted pre-occupation of many users if not a whole generation, from average
Joe's to celebrities.

Were there a set of key events that led to this normalization of what used to
be a frowned upon behavior? Or was it merely a grinding away of cultural norms
through persistent gamification mechanics?

~~~
ModernMech
The key development was growing up with an always connected smartphone. There
was a period between the early 90s and the mid 00s where kids grew up with a
concept of the internet, but not everyone had it, it was hard to get access to
so you treated your time in it preciously, and because of this you had several
other methods of communicating with friends (like actually calling their
landline and actually asking their parents if they are free to talk on the
phone.)

Kids who grew up in the 80s were too early to have had the internet at all.
But kids who grew up in the 00s, notably after the iPhone came out in 06, grew
up very differently. The internet wasn't a precious resource, but an always
available utility ready to be consumed at will.

This generation is growing up in a never ending onslaught of advertisements
and peer pressure the likes of which we didn't experience. They are all guinea
pigs for the Facebooks of the world, subjects of the A/B psychographic
targeting grind. Their dopamine receptors have been primed since birth to go
crazy at the sight of a like.

Anyway, that's my take on it as someone who grew up in this tiny golden era of
the internet.

~~~
whatshisface
Wouldn't all the overstimulation _harden_ them to dopamine attacks? Normally
if you're exposed to something you get used to it, especially if it's a
pleasure.

~~~
pavs
That's a common misconception of how dopamine works.

[https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/women-who-
stray/2017...](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/women-who-
stray/201701/no-dopamine-is-not-addictive)

~~~
Zeklandia
Is your name short for Pavlov?

------
tylerlastovich
Wow, they used a picture I took of my remote office for the 'Yeah My Job Lets
Me Travel' section. I don't know if I feel good or bad about that...

~~~
fatjokes
Did they have your permission? Because they explicitly say that the difference
between them and catfishing is that they have permission...

~~~
saudioger
Satire is protected by fair use.

~~~
balls187
I'm assuming you're talking about US Copyright law.

Satire isn't protected by Fair Use. Parodies are.

Satire will make a more broad point--in this case, the damaging effects on
mental health that social media plays. Any use of copyrighted works won't
likely be protected.

Parody would be something smaller--like creating a website that looks similar
to Instagram, using humor to criticize it.

~~~
heyyyouu
It actually can be protected by fair use -- it's ruled on a case-by-case
basis: [http://www.newseuminstitute.org/first-amendment-
center/topic...](http://www.newseuminstitute.org/first-amendment-
center/topics/freedom-of-speech-2/arts-first-amendment-overview/parody-
satire/) (scroll to end) You're right in that there is no BLANKET protection,
but it has been used for protection before and continues to be.

------
PeterStuer
I lol'ed at the:

Why has my girlfriend turned into a boyfriend?

There was a common issue that has since been fixed where boyfriend photos were
accidentally posted instead of girlfriends. We have since corrected the issue
and removed all posts made in error.

~~~
kerbalspacepro
It's the only thing on the page that gives away it is satire wo/ clicking a
link

------
matte_black
I would like an enterprise version of this. Say I want to rewrite my entire
career, the service could build up an entire resume and educational background
that turns me into a perfect candidate for a company I’m applying to, or makes
me look like a big shot that everyone wants to network with or invest in my
companies. And if people want references there could be live operators waiting
to take calls and give a glowing review. Yes!

------
throwaway_234
I use the Face app to enhance my face/dating profile pics especially the
goatee which changes your skin tone and adds a furrier goatee. It’s not a huge
tweak to how I look so those who I go on dates or hook up with haven’t said
anything and our subsequent dates or hook ups continued.

Overall the Internet is and slowly becoming less of a trustworthy source for
much of anything. Thus dating apps that force u to take a pic of yourself thru
the app no outside pics is probably going to become a thing.

~~~
always_good
Not really. You just don't have enough integrity to roll with your actual
look. I wouldn't be so quick to blame that on anything but yourself.

In fact, it's in your best interest to be as honest as you can upfront so a
woman's first impression of you isn't "hmm, he looked better in his photos :/"

~~~
xor1
>You just don't have enough integrity to roll with your actual look.

Everyone I know touches up their dating pics somehow. Let's not even get into
how your statement relates to makeup, I'm talking about actual modifications
to the picture through filters or even straight-up photoshop.

~~~
always_good
So what? I'm not talking about women and make-up. But I'd say the same about a
man wearing foundation to round out his blemishes.

The truth is you're really doctoring your images to satisfy your weak ego. And
the sooner you acknowledge that, the healthier.

Trying to rope in other people with "but others do it" only demonstrates even
weaker integrity. Though I guarantee you're overestimating the number of touch
ups using something like Face App. Not really the same as some 80s VHS
Instagram filter or whatever.

~~~
xor1
>The truth is you're really doctoring your images to satisfy your weak ego.

I don't think this is true if everyone is doing it. It's like an arms race,
you have to do it just to reach a baseline, as opposed to doing it to stand
out.

Something similar that occurs in online dating is that guys add 1-2 inches to
their height. The vast majority of men do this. I'm somewhere between 5'10 and
5'11, and most people my height list themselves as 6'+, so I started doing it
too, and there's been a noticeable difference in the number of matches I get.

If I put my actual height, women will assume I'm under 5'9, because every guy
who is 5'8 is listing themselves as 5'10.

You can claim that I'm being "insecure", but I've never been dishonest about
my actual height in person. I used to just round down and put 5'10 because I
really didn't care, and I'd always get remarks about how I was taller than
they expected. Funnily enough, lots of people who are the same height as me
really do believe they are 6' because this exaggeration has become so common,
and the average adult doesn't measure their height properly and just goes off
what everyone else says.

------
rdiddly
This is brilliant satire but I feel like a real service like this may already
exist, or will exist soon. It's the next logical step.

~~~
jkaptur
[https://www.selfmade.co/](https://www.selfmade.co/)

------
bwang29
What if you do have the money and could indeed make time and also want to do a
lot of travel, have awesome friends, eat nice dinner, do weekend partying, and
own all those things, but you are simply too lazy?

A lot of the social media personas are made to impress, a proof that fun was
had and life was liven, but nobody can really prove those things unless
they're also eye witnesses, and people probably wouldn't question the
authenticity of someone's social postings unless they do not match the
financial or social status of such person.

Say you do want to maintain this "perfect" social image and are just lazy do
all the things yourselves, then would it make sense to hire someone to do the
things you want to for you and post it on your behalf, or photoshop yourself
into every image, and tell you that you totally could have done exactly that?

Is faking a unpractical life style different from faking a practical one?

~~~
alorimer
> What if you do have the money and could indeed and also want to do a lot of
> travel, have awesome friends, eat nice dinner, do weekend partying, and own
> all those things, but you simply do not have the time?

That makes it ethical... right?

~~~
bwang29
Updated my comment to make it a bit more clear. I guess I was wondering about
what it all means to cast a "real" image on social media anyway.

------
z3t4
My coach said something like: Focus on yourself. Don't care what other people
think. If someone laughs at you, then great, it means they are not focusing on
themselves and you will have an advantage. If someone thinks you're a looser,
it doesn't matter, you can still have a happy life, while others are occupied
on trying to look good, you can spend that energy on improving yourself to
reach your own goals and desires. In my own coaching I try to make sure goals
have intrinsic motivation, not based on what other people think. For example a
bad motive is "I want to have big muscles so others will respect me", vs a
good motive is "I want to have big muscles so I will feel better about
myself". So don't have a party just to show off on Facebook how a good life
you have, instead, forbid cameras and enjoy yourself.

------
joe_the_user
Hmm,

Buying photos probably isn't a sustainable way to maintain a profile. On the
other hand, the transformation of ordinary photos into "perfect instagram
photos" seems plausibly doable by some form of generative neural nets (akin to
the style transfer and fake celebrity apps). Obviously, such photos would need
to be also human vetted but this could open up a lot of possibilities.

And sure, this site is fake but I don't think instagram insanity is going away
just with site pointing to mental health considerations. You'd need to change
society, how people relate to fame and so-forth.

Letting literally everyone fake perfection actually seems more plausible as a
way to escape the insanity of everyone wanting to be celebrity compared to
links to psychologists talking about problems. It would be great "raising
awareness" could help problems but I think history shows awareness raising
does nearly nothing especially compared to giving someone a tool operate
differently. For example, there's at least claims that most plastic surgery
patients really do feel happier long term - at least for simple changes.

~~~
pjc50
> Letting literally everyone fake perfection

The reverse of _Harrison Bergeron_? Somehow more humane and workable.

[http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/harrison.html](http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/harrison.html)

~~~
toomanybeersies
One of my favourite short stories. Short, punchy, and it makes a poignant
observation.

~~~
swyx
it sums up the objection to equality very well. is there a "socialists'
response" to this?

------
partiallypro
I know it's a parody, but it's not a horrible business idea, and some agencies
do similar with their clients. Many models etc you may follow in Instagram
really have an agency that schedules posts that aren't even from that day to
keep social engagement up, they have post scheduler and mix in day to day
content. The pictures of people with their feet hanging out of a helicopter or
tent, etc, are largely compositions. It's a big business. CNBC, I believe, did
a special on this. It was fairly mind blowing.

~~~
tempodox
Exactly. Its's not that by now anyone believes any of that s#%t is real. It's
more like, you have an audience and they want to be entertained. You posting
things is acknowledging that and demonstrating you do the best you can to
deliver top notch entertainment. Social media representing actual reality
would be abysmally boring. You can get boatloads of reality just by walking
out your door. But where would be the fun in that?

------
osrec
This is brilliant. What's worrying is that this could quite possibly be a
valid, profitable business idea. Maybe even using deep fakes to put your face
on a moving jetski or something. It would probably impress a lot of people
while the tech is still fairly esoteric.

~~~
TheSpiceIsLife
Deep fakes to get genuine look positive reviews from previous dates. All you
need is a few seconds of video and audio of their face.

------
ilkan
Are you only half-way through the JS course at Code Academy? Afraid of being
rejected for coding jobs? Do you know the posted requirements are BS, and
you're confident you can grow into any developer role?

For the next 30 days, you can buy a "JobHunter Special": listing as "current
employee" on a corporate website, live email replies from 2 "former" companies
in case of a reference check, and 30 commits on a Github "project".

We also offer the "Personality Special" Wordpress vanity blog package! Choose
between the "team compassion" ( two photoshopped weeks of volunteering at a
children's hospital in Southeast Asia) or the "risktaker" ( a photoshopped 10
day canoe tour in the Amazon). All photos include valid EXIF data for dates
and locations.

(/notreal)

------
Aardwolf
In the video, the first girl interviewed is shaking her head "no" while
talking. I see that often in people being interviewed like this. It's just
extra obvious here. Another typical example is someone being interviewed like
"we're investing a lot in this project in our school which is great for the
students [shakes head no while saying so]" or e.g. a kickstarter video like
"this product is going to revolutionize the ..... [shakes head no while mellow
guitar music plays in the background]"

What does the no shake mean? Does it mean what they're telling is not true? Or
is there some other reason why people instinctively shake no while talking in
interviews?

~~~
SamBam
I think it's a pretty common gesture, maybe meaning roughly "you won't believe
this," or "I'm slightly breathless with amazement." My four-year-old actually
does this gesture when describing something amazing, and I don't see myself or
my wife doing it.

But gestures are so hard to translate. I grew up in Italy, famous of course
for its gestures. One of the most common is making an "OK" symbol with your
fingers and drawing little short straight lines downwards with it. What does
it mean? I doubt many of the people using it could put it into word,
precisely. But we learn it the way we learn language, the same way we use
intonation to turn a statement into a question, without it ever being taught.

------
2048_bytes
The real version of this can be found here:
[http://www.theinstadream.com/](http://www.theinstadream.com/)

~~~
telesilla
Unfortunately the real version doesn't have the videos to convince me why I
need this.

------
executesorder66
For those who don't want to download the 15.0 MB presskit zip file at the end,
but still want to know what it contains:

    
    
      .
      ├── ~$fefaker.docx
      ├── lifefaker-pressrelease.docx
      ├── lifefaker-pressrelease.pdf
      └── Screenshots : Banners
          ├── lifefaker site 1.jpg
          ├── lifefaker site 2.jpg
          ├── lifefaker site 3.jpg
          ├── lifefaker site 4.jpg
          ├── lifefaker site 5.jpg
          ├── lifefaker site 6.jpg
          ├── lifefaker site 7.jpg
          ├── lifefaker site 8.jpg
          ├── lifefaker site 9.jpg
          ├── longbanner-lifefaker-1.jpg
          ├── longbanner-lifefaker-2.jpg
          ├── longbanner-lifefaker-3.jpg
          ├── squarebanner-lifefaker-1.jpg
          └── squarebanner-lifefaker-2.jpg
    

The pdf gives a basic overview of what the site pretends to do, then says:

> "However, anyone who tries to use Lifefaker.com will learn the real purpose
> of the project. They’ll receive a message from Sanctus, a mental health
> start-up. The site reminds us that we’ve all felt the pressures of social
> media – with 62% of people feeling inadequate comparing their lives to those
> online. The site users can click through to Sanctus.io for a film exploring
> the unhealthy behaviours on social media that impact our mental health, and
> what we can do to change them.

> Download Stills | Download Film "

------
mrnobody_67
This pretty much summarized 90% of IG accounts.

They just need a "Look at all the famous people I know" option :)

~~~
Thriptic
The "I'm an influencer" package

------
Maryhart6464
I have one credit card that I pay off every month and never charge more than
20 percent of its limit. My house, vehicle, etc. are all paid for. I spend
very little as I need little. I have been frugal all my life and now I find a
credit score of 500. I contacted a credit scoring firm to figure this whole
thing out for me but got turned down several times not until I read about a
well recommended credit repair firm. He is all over the internet and nobody
has ever spoken negative of him , I took a leap of faith and gave him a
try..He boosted my scores, removed all my negatives . Now I am living a
standard life and I can’t thank him enough..He’s blunt and honest. You can
give him a try for your credit score boost.. send him on email
creditscorerepair@cyberservices.com PHONE:+1 321 256 3670

------
speby
Great satire site. I also remember this video which I thought was really well-
done about social media versus real life:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxVZYiJKl1Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxVZYiJKl1Y)

~~~
effingwewt
Wow that video was great, funny yet poignant. One of the comments was eye
opening as well. Cassandra Smith says '"The reason we struggle with insecurity
is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight
reel" \- Steven Furtick' I think that correlates well with what lifefaker was
trying to point out. Our amateur 'lives' aren't necessarily comparable to
post-edited big studio 'lives'.

------
ponderatul
What I'd really encourage people is to try acting classes. It's a weird form
of therapy whereas the focus is not you, as when you go to a therapist, but
inadvertently the things you do there work on yourself.

Here's an excerpt from a book on the actor's craft. “You asked me a question,”
Bill says, looking at Jon. “You asked me, ‘How can we get better at processing
our emotions?’ You should all turn off your cell phones. Shut down your
computers. Click off your iPods and your televisions and everything you listen
to that isn’t human. Modern society has surrounded us with these things and
they’re killing us. We’re beginning to forget what it is simply to breathe and
eat and laugh and watch and wonder and listen and experience one another.
We’re forgetting how to be human beings with actual opinions and genuine
feelings and originality. And if we can’t be human, how can we ever hope to be
artists"

This guy who taught acting classes for 30 years, is able to see clearly what
technology has done for human contact.

If you think about it, it really makes sense that there's something really
fundamental for us humans in acting. It's an art that has been with us for
thousands of years, and has withstood the test of time.

~~~
rkachowski
and yet ironically, one of the goals of acting + writing is to transform this
human contact and emotional experience into a form that can be consumed with
computers, ipods, televisions and cellphones.

------
hhw3h
Does it not only provide you with the content but also schedule the
distribution like Buffer?

For better or for worse I feel there is definitely a market for some version
of this.

~~~
montecarl
This is not a real service. Try to buy one of their packages and it brings up
a page that says:

You're not alone. 62% of people feel inadequate comparing their lives to
others online.

Then links to some mental health article on social media.

~~~
SlowRobotAhead
I’m apparently #blessed to have grown up in that middle era remembering before
and after the internet where I think it’s less likely to have this type of
insecurity.

I wish i had a crystal ball to see if were social media is going, for me, away
is the only answer. For everyone else... I really can’t tell when it will
peak.

That black mirror on the topic episode was so good!

------
grenoire
Is it just me that doesn't have any of the images loading up?

~~~
ahtu123
Looks like a hug of death. Many resources aren't loading at all on that site
anymore

------
bduerst
Some friends and I joked about something similar as a service - We would run
secure Android VMs to spoof GPS coordinates & camera inputs, which would allow
you to checkin & submit content to social media apps - all to achieve
unprecedented levels of humble bragging.

------
circa
I really want to do a Whois search and have it say George Costanza as the
owner of this site.

~~~
danesparza
Really it needs to say "Art Vandelay"

------
mqueenan
This feels like a GTAV radio ad.

~~~
nerflad
Totally. Wasn't the satirical version of facebook called lifeinvader in that
game? very similar :)

------
number6
I wished it was a real service. They should have scheduled uploads and some
kind of travel package so it look like you are on a back packing trip or
something. You could add this as sabbatical on your resume.

~~~
SlowRobotAhead
Just got back from a trip around Asia, man, it’s a lot of WORK posting photos
with little blips about them. I refuse to use Facebook or Instagram, but
Flickr was the same process and still took time away from the trip.

I seriously don’t understand how people with selfie compulsion snapping
hundreds of photos a day make time to sort through them.

~~~
derefr
Now there’s a service: you take the photos; we’ll curate them, caption them,
and post them on the right social channels at the right times for maximum
reach. Like a consumer-level PR agency.

~~~
SlowRobotAhead
Whoa. That’s actually something! Hand selected at first then machine learning
to find photos with good light and focus, repetition of face angles you like,
then filtered for a human for final approval.

------
jd_routledge
Hope they release a "My Startup is Killing It" package.

~~~
lawnchair_larry
This sounds like a perfect LinkedIn premium tier

------
thom
Posted with a straight face by a startup with no actual qualifications for
talking about mental health, but with an Instagram full of smiling people and
pithy quotes.

------
Simulacra
Because the road to perfection begins with money.

------
latexr
Also relevant (tangential), the Center for Humane Technology[1]. Their “This
Panda is Dancing”[1] video explains the problem and their mission.

[1]: [http://humanetech.com/](http://humanetech.com/)

[2]: [https://youtu.be/tf9ZhU7zF8s](https://youtu.be/tf9ZhU7zF8s) (3m49s)

------
eecks
My life is far from perfect and I don't try paint a perfect version on
Instagram.. but my photos could be in these packages.

~~~
SlowRobotAhead
Just went to Borneo jungles by long boat. If i used fb/insta I might post
those pics knowing but also not caring if someone else compared themselves to
me. The dopamine hit from likes is real, I think it’s best to avoid even if
you do cool things.

Really, if you do cool things and are an actually cool person, you don’t need
to broadcast it.

~~~
eecks
When I do cool things I often meet new people. I connect with them through
Insta and enjoy seeing their photos of the cool thing. I get to see their
perspective and things I might not have done/seen.

I would enjoy seeing someones experience of the Borneo jungles because I
haven't been and from a quick google it looks like something I would enjoy.

You do have a point about the hit from likes and I have to admit that I have
taken photos with the mindset "this will go on Instagram".. but maybe that is
not so bad. Insta and the people who post on it are like a community and once
you approach it right you can get a lot from it.

------
ccccccccccccc
As someone in their 20s I'm always amazed (and i'm sure my peers in the same
age group are) by how many people become somewhat famous on Instagram. The
people doing it usually don't have jobs that could find the kind of lifestyles
they portray, so where do they get this money from?

~~~
lerpa
Debt possibly. I personally knew a few people that would spend money they
don't have just to show off IRL before social media was a thing, and I can see
doing it to a larger audience being much more efficient.

------
malek9i9i9i
My coach said something like: Focus on yourself. Don't care what other people
think. If someone laughs at you, then great, it means they are not focusing on
themselves and you will have an advantage. If someone thinks you're a looser,
it doesn't matter, you can still have a happy life, while others are occupied
on trying to look good, you can spend that energy on improving yourself to
reach your own goals and desires. In my own coaching I try to make sure goals
have intrinsic motivation, not based on what other people think. For example a
bad motive is "I want to have big muscles so others will respect me", vs a
good motive is "I want to have big muscles so I will feel better about
myself". So don't have a party just to show off on Facebook how a good life
you have, instead, forbid cameras and enjoy yourself.

------
malek9i9i9i
My coach said something like: Focus on yourself. Don't care what other people
think. If someone laughs at you, then great, it means they are not focusing on
themselves and you will have an advantage. If someone thinks you're a looser,
it doesn't matter, you can still have a happy life, while others are occupied
on trying to look good, you can spend that energy on improving yourself to
reach your own goals and desires. In my own coaching I try to make sure goals
have intrinsic motivation, not based on what other people think. For example a
bad motive is "I want to have big muscles so others will respect me", vs a
good motive is "I want to have big muscles so I will feel better about
myself". So don't have a party just to show off on Facebook how a good life
you have, instead, forbid cameras and enjoy yourself

------
foobar1962
A twist on "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" by Philip K. Dick in 1966.

------
venamresm__
This has never been more relevant: [https://www.unexplained-
mysteries.com/column.php?id=143352](https://www.unexplained-
mysteries.com/column.php?id=143352)

------
notadoc
Given that a huge percentage of social media behavior is manufactured, staged,
and almost always aimed at social signaling, it's only a matter of time before
this moves beyond parody and into reality.

------
jccalhoun
"Lifefaker.com is a fictitious website" Clearly, it isn't.

------
philipps
I’m not a very active contributor here, but the only points I occasionally
find myself paying attention to are the ones on HN. It actually means
something to get a few replies.

------
toblender
Darn, I was hoping to buy some of these and create a fake account to see how
many followers I could accumulate, kind of like "Ultra superficial".

------
everdev
All images broken for me on Chrome/Android mobile.

------
amelius
Sadly, I already thought of this at some point; it was probably when I was
looking at my totally unimpressive Facebook wall.

------
baxtr
This is a great marketing idea! Congrats. I haven’t heard of Sanctus before

------
fjsolwmv
Seems to be hugged to death, the photos are sporadically broken URLs.

------
asow92
Maybe someone is testing a hypothesis. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

------
koolhead17
Is it a YC company? Just curious. :)

~~~
tempodox
I'm sure there will be several applicants this winter, pitching an idea like
that. You've got to sell that shovel before the gold rush is over.

------
Udik
Let's fix that title, please :)

------
alienspaces
Fantastic! Great job faking faking!

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lallysingh
I'm so unhappy that this isn't real. The amount of competitive trolling I
could do with this...

 _Sigh_

~~~
tedmiston
Real services like this do exist though.

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therealmarv
add some deep fake ai to still images and make a business out of this

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homero
Great parody bringing attention to the fact people only share the best moments
of their life

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Lapsa
where's the vertical scrollbar? :<

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Kassem
Cool

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paulperry-wc
just great!!!

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danschumann
One of Peterson's rules for life: If you have to choose between being seen
doing something, and doing something, choose the ladder.

~~~
topmonk
Sounds like a rule for being a master thief

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paulperry-wc
just great!!!!

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komali2
I like this satire, it's making a fun statement. I was mildly surprised though
by the images they chose for "my unachievable body" for men. The women's
examples were definitely absurd, but of the two dudes one was just a guy with
unremarkable arms deadlifting, and another was just a dude with low bodyfat.
Why didn't they go with like a mr Olympia or something? Maybe it's a statement
on how much easier it is for men to be considered to have "a hot bod" than
woman?

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jakobegger
"Unremarkable arms"? "Just a dude with low body fat"?

Not sure what circles you're in, but I know exactly one person that looks even
remotely as good as those two guys. For about 95% of the world population,
these are unachievable bodies.

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chillacy
I also take issue with the idea that these are "unachievable", as if it's
physically impossible for all but 5% of the genetically gifted, and there's no
point in the rest of us trying because we weren't born that way.

The reality is that most could achieve these physiques if they wanted to, it's
just that nobody wants to put in the effort of lifting at least 3x a week for
at least 30 mins a day, strictly counting calories, (I would say taking
anabolic steroids but those pics definitely look achievable naturally).

So I'd say it's not an issue of "can't", it's an issue of "won't". And that's
totally fine to not prioritize that, but don't discourage those who might
otherwise want to.

For anyone reading this who wants to try strength training, I can attest that
it's worth it. Regardless of where you start, if you follow the process you
will look better and be healthier than you began. Many see noticeable changes
within as little as 3 months. Within the circles I know, people look better
and get stronger every year, and building strength helps with so many other
activities, so it'll give you a leg up when you're trying indoor climbing, or
yoga, or paddleboarding, etc.

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pjc50
Concur that strength training is worth it, but it doesn't automatically give
you anything like those appearances even if the amount you can lift goes up
substantially.

Calorie counting that strictly seems to be psychologically gruelling for most
people. (This will start an argument in comments, but I'll just point out that
telling someone that something they find extremely difficult is something you
find easy has never in the history of education enabled anyone to do anything)

~~~
chillacy
I don't find it easy either though, it was a huge pain and I could only pull
it off for a tow years because I obsessed over it: I lived and breathed
fitness until I could find a new weight to maintain. I spent my free time
reading fitness forums, watching fitness channels for fun, etc.

With that same amount of time I could have put serious work into my other
hobbies like electronics or made more career moves. I probably sacrificed that
for fitness, but I don't regret it.

These days I've dropped the obsession to work on other things. I still go to
the gym twice a week for maintenance, and my weight fluctuates more around my
new goal weight, but I've gotten used to my metabolism.

All-in-all I'm very thankful to be healthier, and I hope others find a similar
joy in strength training or physical exercise. It's a lot of work, but it's so
worth it! No matter where you start, you can make progress.

