In Sincerity and Authenticity, Lionel Trilling distinguishes authenticity from sincerity. He conceptualizes authenticity as a display of the hidden inner life, complete with passions and anguish, while sincerity is the opposite of hypocrisy—honesty without pretense. Both senses are used by technology insiders when explaining what authenticity means to them. But it is often this "display of the hidden inner life," the act of revealing intimate information, that creates a bond between micro-celebrity practitioners and their audiences.

Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, loc. 285