Table of contents
About Grayscale
An invitation to slow down, zoom out, and think deeply about how the internet is forming us.
OpeningLetter
There’s a photo I’ve looked at a dozen times--one where I look happy.
Smiling. Confident. Framed in golden hour light with just the right filter.
But I remember how I felt that day: exhausted. Insecure. Barely holding it together.
That’s the strange tension we live in now. Our image--what people see--can be curated, filtered, and polished. But our care--how we’re actually doing--often gets buried beneath the performance.
On the internet, we are all part-brand, part-person, part-profile, and part-soul.
And as the lines between public and private life continue to blur, we have to ask ourselves: Am I more committed to appearing okay…or actually being okay?
Eric Brown
Co-Founder, Whiteboard
On the internet, we are all part-brand, part-person, part-profile, and part-soul.
“If you are constantly trying to be everything to everyone, you will lose who you are."
Brene Brown
"True self-care is not salt baths and chocolate cake, it is making the choice to build a life you don’t need to regularly escape from. And that often takes doing the thing you least want to do."
Brianna Wiest
The BigPicture
A snapshot of self-image at scale.
70%
Over 70% of Instagram users edit their photos before posting.
82%
82% of Gen Z say they’ve compared themselves to others on social media--and felt worse. (Common Sense Media, 2022)
$4.5T
The global wellness industry is worth over $4.5 trillion, but rates of anxiety and burnout continue to climb.
40%
40% of millennials have taken a break from social media for their mental health.
EmbracingTension
Self-Image vs. Self-Care
Self-Image
Without intention--a curated perception. The filtered version of our lives we present to the world. Often based on comparison, perfectionism, and approval.
Self-Care
With intention--a deep commitment to well-being. Rest, boundaries, grace, and honesty. It's not bubble baths and face masks--it’s learning to rest without guilt, say no without shame, and show up without a filter.
You can’t perform your way into peace.
“If you are constantly trying to be everything to everyone, you will lose who you are."
Brene Brown
"True self-care is not salt baths and chocolate cake, it is making the choice to build a life you don’t need to regularly escape from. And that often takes doing the thing you least want to do."
Brianna Wiest
The Reframe& Resources
The opportunity beyond self-image.
Social psychologist Thomas Curran explores the pressure to be perfect.
To Know—
- Your worth is not defined by likes, follows, or appearance.
- Self-image is often a performance.
- Busyness ≠ significance.
- You’re allowed to be a work in progress.
—and do.
- Take breaks from the mirror (or the feed) when you need to.
- Schedule margin.
- Prioritize rest as a form of resistance.
- Journal, walk, pray, unplug. Reclaim space to hear your own soul.
ConcludingReflection
There’s a voice in our heads fueled by feeds and filters that tells us we have to keep it together.
Keep up appearances. Keep hustling, glowing, and achieving.
But what if the real flex is rest?
What if the most radical act is not self-optimization, but self-compassion?
The internet will always ask, “How do you look?”
But maybe the better question is: “How are you really doing?”
You don’t owe the world a polished version of yourself. You owe yourself peace.
Eric Brown
Co-Founder, Whiteboard
What if the most radical act is not self-optimization, but self-compassion?
