This week, we turn inward and explore the Cult of the Self. In this episode, I reflected on my experience of showing up on the internet and on social media, and what it meant to be a person in the digital realm. Ultimately, I felt disconnected and isolated from the technology that was designed to connect us. I still feel that way, and I’m noticing many others are embracing that disconnect from the internet and technology, particularly younger generations. Instagram is having a hard time engaging younger users, who are opting for a different and more casual experience than the highly curated and glossy photo-sharing that made the app famous. Some are taking it a step further by giving up their smartphones for “dumbphones.” I personally love the idea of going back to pre-2007 technology and re-living a less connected era. Other kids are disconnecting entirely, forming Luddite Clubs that celebrate and encourage going off the grid.
At the same time, the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence is raising new questions of what it means to exist online. We’re seeing the rise of AI avatars — digital versions of ourselves that can speak in our voice, answer questions in our tone, even replicate our facial expressions. Imagine a future where our digital avatars stand-in for a virtual job interview with an AI job recruiter. In a strange way, it’s the final evolution of the digital self: not just curated, but automated. But if a bot can be me, then who am I in the first place? Where is the line between a self I’ve shaped and a self that’s been scraped, copied, and simulated?
There’s something eerie about this idea that our presence can be mimicked while our personhood fades into the background. And while some are choosing to log off to preserve their sense of self, others are being replicated without consent. Our individuality, once the cornerstone of American identity, now feels like raw material in a much larger machine. In a world where selfhood is both a performance and a product, what does it mean to be real?
– Angelo