It’s still strange to me see any kind of social media or dating app profile on which people proudly list their various identities, signifiers, as if these labels came entirely from within… when all these terms (self-evidently) are invented, imported, and cultured like a foreign plant in a horticulturist’s garden.
More than realize our identities, our socially projected selves, are filling (what we implicitly and yet unconsciously perceive as) niches in the social ecology—places where we might be more useful or notable rather than anonymous or forgotten. ‘Authenticity’ is a survival strategy.
So we'll see little lifestyle videos celebrating whatever fake soul people have cooked up for themselves. “Atomized corporate drone having a nice day drinking lattes.” Yay. Okay! For others, identity becomes tied to a quaint little hobby. “Gamer” or “YouTuber” or “Poet” or “dog person”—could be almost anything. The important thing is that the tag feels good and celebrates the pre-reflective behavior or value—makes the thing that was implanted or cultivated seem native, and therefore, deeply good.
I don’t think we understand how much human energy or potential is spent on dressing up the lives we ended up with by accident.