The Importance of Spending Time to Truly Know Someone

Source : Photo by Matilda Wormwood

There was a moment in my life that truly opened my eyes to the importance of getting to know someone more deeply before making judgments or labeling them. A few years ago, I had just met a friend through social media. Like many of us, I was impressed by their feed, filled with perfectly curated photos, inspiring status updates, and loads of positive comments from others. I thought, "Wow, this person must be really nice and have a great character." However, as it turned out, my first impression was based only on snippets that had been carefully filtered by social media.

The more I got to know this person, the more I realized that what we see on the surface, especially on social media, doesn’t always reflect reality. This experience made me wonder how many of us are quick to form conclusions about people based solely on their online presence. We often look at someone’s Instagram posts, Facebook statuses, or Twitter updates and immediately form an opinion about them. But what we see is just the outer layer, as if we’re judging someone based solely on the mask they choose to wear.

It’s a big mistake that, I believe, many of us have made at some point. We’re quick to assume, and sometimes even place our full trust in someone just because their social media feed looks nice and pleasant. In reality, though, social media is just a highlight reel — a collection of the best moments they want to showcase, not a full representation of who they truly are.

There’s one piece of advice that completely changed my perspective on getting to know people: “If you really want to get to know someone, spend at least 72 hours with them.” And after trying it, I realized just how true that statement is. There’s no better way to see someone’s true self than by spending a substantial amount of time with them. Over the course of three days, you can see how they react under stress, how they treat others, what their daily habits are, and what they truly think when the masks are off.

I once went on a trip with some friends for a week, and that’s when I truly got to know the character of a few of them. On the first day, everything seemed fine. We laughed, shared stories, and had a great time. But after three days, I started to see different sides of each person. How they reacted to small problems, how they behaved when tired, and even how they treated strangers. It turned out, there were things I didn’t know before because I had only seen the version they chose to display on social media.

From that experience, I learned that knowing someone goes beyond just seeing what they show on the surface. It takes time and closeness to truly understand a person’s real character. And yes, maybe three days is enough time to see if the mask starts to crack. So, the next time you really want to get to know someone, spend time with them, not just in short moments, but in situations that reveal who they really are. Don’t be too quick to draw conclusions from social media, because what you see there is only the selected pieces, not the whole story.

So, if you’re looking to find a true friend or someone you can genuinely trust, get to know them in the right way. Spend time with them, observe how they behave in various situations, and you’ll see who they really are.

Thank you for reading this far into my article. Hopefully, there is something you can get from what I have shared.