The pressure to attract attention online has driven a growing number of social media users to stage exaggerated scenes and misleading moments, a trend widely referred to as “fake life” or “settings,” which has gained particular traction among young people.
Social media personality and entrepreneur Aba Martin, known online as Aba Dope, has positioned herself as one of the earliest figures associated with the phenomenon, insisting she pioneered the practice on Snapchat long before it became widespread.
Speaking in an interview on TV3, Aba Dope traced her social media journey back to around 2015, when she was a nursing student and Snapchat dominated the digital space. She described the platform at the time as the leading social media app, attracting constant activity and competition for visibility.
She explained that in her early days on Snapchat, she often created staged moments designed to impress her audience and elevate her online image. One such tactic involved recording videos from inside someone else’s car, carefully positioning the camera to give the impression that she was behind the wheel, even though she was not.
“How I became Aba Dope? I started on Snapchat. At that time, it wasn’t about all those other apps. When I was in nursing school around 2015, I downloaded Snapchat, and we were just posting all the time. I started ‘settings’ on Snapchat. I could go and sit in somebody’s car and place my hand on the steering wheel as though I was the one driving, but I was never caught,” she shared.
Beyond her social media experiences, Aba Dope also opened up about her decision to undergo liposuction in pursuit of her desired body shape, revealing that she traveled to Nigeria to have the procedure done.
Touching on public perceptions of Brazilian Butt Lift procedures, she challenged the negative stereotypes often attached to cosmetic surgery. She argued that such procedures are frequently misunderstood, pointing out that cosmetic surgery has been practiced for many years and is commonly used to remove excess or unwanted fat from the body.
Watch her remarks below.
“I started settings and fake life on Snapchat.” — @aba__dope #Showbiz360 #TV3GH pic.twitter.com/9PEllZn81y
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) January 25, 2026
