The Imaginary Audience
Be honest, have you ever “fudged” the numbers, faked a running post, or elaborated your times on Strava/social media? Have you ever heard yourself embellishing and inflating your past PB’s as you recount with vigour the slightly reworked narrative of the runner you used to be, still are or the runner you are becoming.
Maybe you’ve found yourself making excuses for a recent “slow” run as though the time your ran is somehow SO beneath you. And whilst I’m asking for some candour, to what extent have you made yourself appear better, faster, greater than? Have you lied about a time and distance, cut a corner in a race, paused your Garmin to recover/have a cup of tea but on Strava the discretion was due to watch malfunction? Does the pressure of being “seen” as good enough influence your usual values and integrity?
The Imaginary Audience
The Imaginary Audience is a psychological developmental concept suggesting that we believe we are under constant and close observation by our peers, family, and strangers. This fear of being watched can lead to low self-esteem, hyper self-consciousness, with heightened sensitivity to criticism, and the belief that one's actions and appearance are under constant scrutiny and is thought to be more prevalent in teenagers due to the development of their over inflated ego during this stormy phase in their life.
A “Real” Imaginary Audience?
The term was first coined in 1967 by David Elkind so not a new theory, but social media has added another level of stress to not only adolescents but normal, competent professional adults.
The imaginary audience literally just took steroids!
How far would you go?
How far would you go to make yourself look good? A story broke last week of Kate Carter, Runner’s World Edito and an extremely competant runner, who was called out by an American blog called Marathon Investigation who was “tipped” that Carter had lied about her finishing times on her public Strava profile for 2 prestigious running events in London last year.
Cater released a statement owning her mistakes which shows real vulnerability of the pressure to be “perfect” all the time.
““I was not in peak marathon fitness at the time and didn’t think I was going to get a very good time.
“I also feel it is important to admit that part of this was about my ego. Even in the amateur running world there is pressure to maintain form and times” she said she had been afraid of having a time that I wasn’t proud of. My own desire to be seen to be doing well at a time when I was feeling weak and below par, resulted in a momentary lapse of judgement which I very much regret”.”
Publically Shamed
Any embellishment we might have made probably hasn’t been called out on the same level as Kate Carters, been publicly shamed is no fun, but it highlights how the perceived pressure can influence our actions at any level.
But is the pressure real?
Liverpool Marathon 2021
I hadn’t run a marathon for several years and whilst I was looking forward to the event, I perceived some pressure from an audience of RV members past and present, an expectency that I should run the perfect marathon by executing all of my sage coaching advice; this was my first marathon as a paid running coach On the morning of the raceut the pressure grew, it led to a heightened state of self-consciousness that panicked me into a tizzy of anxiety; like a rabbit in headlights, I frantically looked for escape routes; opting out wasn’t an option. I know! I’ll remove my chip timing from my number, a fair compromise of that tasted more palatable than faking sudden illness. But I convinced myself as I left my hotel room for the start of the race that no-one cares what I did so the chip stayed on.
The demons caught up with me
Argh but the demons caught up with me, just one at first, I heard them approach as they synchronised their whisper with my footfall. “You set off too fast, everyone will see that first mile and laugh, ha, she did exactly what she tells us not to do!! You’ve blown it, everyone will see your pace drop and know you’re human!” And as the ninja continued to chatter, it called for its friends to join in, as they hijacked my rational brain and with each step that I ran they seized control. How do I escape their clutches, shall I stop, walk off the course, call an Uber?
I couldn’t take anymore I ripped off the timing chip at mile 20 and the ninjas silence was deafening
Did I give one second of a thought to the genuine people who were following me? Nope, not one thought at all, my values disappeared alongside the chip. It hadn’t crossed my mind that there would be concern for my safety, I was too wrapped up in my egocentrism (typical teenage behaviour, it’s all about me) but to my friends and family, as far as they were concerned, I’d stopped at mile 20, they thought the worst, I’d collapsed, I was in a coma, I’d come a cropper; for the next hour I caused them unnecessary worry. I’d bowed and broken under the glare of the imaginary audience, pressurised, or striving to maintain my image through fear of judgment, reluctant to express my genuine vulnerability and authenticity, which ironically, in the end my actions showed.
Be Bold!
Navigating the realm of social media requires a delicate balance between authenticity and discretion. I do think it’s important to remember that the perceived scrutiny of the imaginary audience is often exaggerated, and that genuine connections are forged through sincerity and vulnerability rather than a meticulously crafted facade of who you think you should be, this can be incredible isolating and lonely and can lead to you missing out on a lot of fun.