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# The second module of my philosophy course is all about idealism and finishes with Plato's allegory of the cave.

The introspection for this module asked if, like the prisoners in the cave, there was anything in my life I thought was real but turned out to be merely a shadow.

For this first public introspection I can cheat a bit having previously written a piece called "The Social Cave" in which I questioned if we were trapped in our streams, staring at a wall of opinion, treating the fleeting shadows of passing posts as our reality.

"Are the chains holding us fast of our own making as we are afraid to turn around and see things from a different perspective? Do we deliberately align ourselves with those of a similar stance in order to validate our opinion or are we willing to entertain alternative realities?"

For too long I allowed myself to be trapped in a filter bubble, seeking approval, and considering the dopamine hits of likes and retweets as genuine affection.

But, just as Socrates explains how a philosopher is like a prisoner freed from the cave, so I realised that escaping the social streams allowed me to see things in a different light without the hyperbole and confrontation.