Valentine’s Day looms, the true Halloween for singletons. Cut to snacking on cereal in the kitchen at 4am, stroking a circa 2006 Facebook picture of your ex, weeping to Justin Bieber’s Love Yourself.

Tinder, which has recently introduced surge notifications during peak activity, can expect to become a lot busier in the next couple of weeks. But do we really represent our true selves on the dating app?

Surveys have suggested it takes us five attempts to style a selfie we are happy with sharing on social media, and that women can spend a staggering 48 minutes a day taking selfies. Men can take a while too, I’ve certainly seen a lot of men flexing in mirror selfies. Including this one, possibly the worst of all time.

Now, singletons have taken to social media to expose the discrepancy between their Tinder pictures and their more quotidian look – everyday shots of lounging around in bed, hanging with pets or grabbing a morning coffee; far from coiffed poses or club shots, a bottle of Cristal in each hand.

Using the hashtag #OnTinderAtTinder, Tinder daters, both men and women, posted their IRL vs Tinder pictures:

The revelations of real images are reminiscent of when social media star Essena O’Neill took herself off Instagram last autumn, deleting 2,000 pictures and editing the captions of others to show the reality of her perfectly styled photographs.

“See how relatable my captions were – stomach sucked in, strategic pose, pushed up boobs”, she wrote at the time.

Those joining in with the #OnTinderAtTinder hashtag expanded the theme to something similar to the “nailed it” meme, in which individuals mock their attempts at life hacks and cooking and fitness goals, posting pictures of their own subpar attempts.

Of course, as well as the humour, there is a more serious point to the campaign, originally started by someecards – that of the intense beauty pressures both men and women face, contributing to self-esteem and mental health issues. We should all learn to love ourselves, and accept out wonky noses, slightly lazy eyes and extra roll of flesh around the stomach.

I still probably won’t upload a picture of me sprawled across the couch in pyjamas with pizza crumbs down my front, though. Even if that is how I spend 99% of my time.

• Is the #SelfieEsteem campaign anything more than an internet gimmick?