LARPing originally arose in gaming when players impersonated characters for fun.

LARP has become Internet slang for faking some kind of identity, expertise, hobby, or lifestyle.

People LARP to get real-world attention, popularity, career advanacement, power, love, or money

LARPing can especially tough to maintain.

Is "LARPing" playing some kind of role in your life?

There was the original gaming meaning of LARPing—Live-Action Role-Playing—which referred to dressing up in real life like Xena the Warrior Princess, Drizzt Do'Urden from Dungeons & Dragons, or some other fantasy character and then acting out what that character would normally do.

Then there's the new definition of LARPing that's been spreading on social media: It's when you fake some kind of identity, expertise, hobby, or lifestyle in order to get what you hope to be real attention, popularity, power, money, or even love.

The Original Meaning of LARPing

The term LARPing arose from role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Pokémon, Final Fantasy, and The Elder Scrolls that began as table-top games but eventually transitioned online as well. In such games, you are supposed to assume some type of identify—hence the word "role"—and play—hence the word "play"—that character throughout the game. It becomes "live-action" when you try to........

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