- The online authenticity paradox refers to the fact that we have a desire to “be authentic” on the web, but doing so requires vulnerability that can have negative consequences. This is especially true for people who have negative life experiences or have marginalized identities. - It’s characterized by three things: 1. People tend to consider it important to be authentic in their on- and offline presentations. 2. People also tend to believe that authenticity requires sharing both positive and negative experiences. 3. This makes authenticity inaccessible for a lot of people, especially those with stigmatized experiences. - I explored the difficulty of performing “authentically” online in [[earnest on main]]