Who are you beneath the filter?

Social media is stealing your time. Even worse, it's reshaping your sense of self. You scroll, compare and perform, then wonder why even your biggest achievements leave you feeling hollow. But you don't have to quit the digital world to enjoy living in the real one. And understanding why you feel so disconnected from yourself is the first step towards reclaiming the things you love.

Real blends cutting-edge psychology and neuroscience to explain how social media challenges and disrupts your identity — and how you can reclaim it. Author Alexis Zahner is a business psychology expert, podcast host and self-confessed tech addict who has spent two decades inside the very platforms she writes about. Drawing on her own messy, honest journey back to herself, Alexis doesn't lecture. She gives you a practical framework for understanding your online habits and rebuilding a relationship with social media that works for you.


Discover how dopamine loops and algorithms shape your behaviour and learn how you can interrupt the cycle

Understand how your online identity fragments over time and how to reconnect with your whole self

Set personalised digital boundaries that protect your mental health and wellbeing without cutting you off from the world

Navigate parasocial relationships, comparison culture and illusions of credibility with confidence

Build rituals anchored to your real self, creating lasting change that goes far deeper than a detox


Complete with journaling prompts, self-assessments and reflection exercises, Real is as practical as it is illuminating. For anyone tired of living in the likes, suggested posts, sponsored ads and curated highlights, this book will change how you see your feed. Most importantly, it will change how you see the real you.