Idealizing openness implies that there should be no difference in self-presentation regardless of circumstance. Under this particular definition of authenticity, an honest and forthright person will be who they “really are” consistently, regardless of who is listening. But this view does not reflect the realities of how people differ in the ways they use gesture, language, and tone to manage impressions face-to-face. The idea of a single, “authentic” self, although it carries a great deal of currency in contemporary American culture, is a social construction, one at odds with actual social practice.

Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, loc. 617