Peaches is the only proof we need that social media is not real life.

There was nothing on Peaches’ crammed social media feeds to suggest the terrible turmoil of her day-to-day reality. 

Peaches Geldof sent me pictures of her kids every day.

Some days, there were hundreds.

And not just of her kids. Of her beautiful country house, of her fluffy dog and her pudgy cat. Of her handsome, hipster husband.

She sent me little missives about breastfeeding, about the cuddly wonders of co-sleeping, about the relentless, light-headed exhaustion of being a mum to two tiny children.

I felt like I knew her. But I didn’t. I just followed her on Instagram and Twitter.

And if there has ever been a starker reminder than our social media feeds bear very little resemblance to real life, the seedy revelations about Peaches’ addiction that surfaced at an inquest into her death this week are it.

Because on Instagram, Peaches was riding around on a tiny tractor in the country garden of her million-dollar home, wearing tweed. She was coaxing her kids to eat organic mush, struggling with bath time, drinking coconut water straight from the shell, and occasionally frocking up for a night out without them, gushing all the while about missing her boys terribly.

But in reality, Peaches Geldof had 80 syringes hidden around a room in her house. She had a stash of pure-grade heroin in a lolly box in her wardrobe. She had been in and out of treatment, trying to wean herself off the same addictive drug that killed her mother, for years.

On Twitter, Peaches eloquently argued her passion for Attachment Parenting. She railed against any news story that involved child abuse or neglect. She referred to her boys by nicknames only a mother could love.

In reality, Peaches was flushing drugs down her home’s bathroom toilet to assure her husband that this time, she really was clean.

And in her media career, Peaches was a columnist for Mother & Baby, argued about the definition of a good mother on breakfast TV and was planning to launch a parenting blog of her own.

In reality, when Peaches died, her 11-month son was left alone in the house with her body for 17 hours.

I'm not suggesting for a moment that Peaches did not love her beautiful boys, that she didn't believe in Attachment Parenting, that she didn't find joy in bath time, snuggles with her sons and the simple country life. But clearly, that was not the whole story.

When the news of Peaches' death first broke, I didn't believe for a second that it was a drug overdose. Because I saw her life. I knew it. And it didn't look like a junkie's life. Not to me.

Perhaps on Instagram, Peaches got to live the life she wished was her reality. She got to be earth mother, lady of a country manor, a parenting expert. Beyond her fragile appearance, there was no hint of the addiction and desperation that ravaged her.

No one of us is only One Thing. None of us is "just" a mother, "just" a wife, "just" a friend. None of us is "just" a party animal, "just" a model employee, "just" a good girl.  And addicts are not "just" addicts. They are mothers, partners, friends, workers, carers.

We are all guilty of editing what we choose to show the world. We post and comment on the sides of ourselves that we think people will like the best. Or be most amused by. Or will most relate to.

The things we choose not to share probably say more about us than the things that we do. New mums don't share the sleepless nights, the bewildered tears, the hair-tearing frustration.

But hopefully, few of us are living such an extreme double life as Peaches.

So the next time you're looking at someone's social media feed and wondering why your life isn't one long series of sunsets and holidays and passionate kisses, delicious-looking meals and perfectly-groomed children, remember:

This is not real life. This is just the highlights reel.

Do you ever feel bad about other people's lives on social media? And do you censor your own life?

Like this? Try:

Do you have a fake Facebook life?

Peaches' last word on parenting.

CLICK THROUGH the gallery to see some of Peaches' social media posts.