narcissism & the internet
There were always people who were addicted to attention, but the current culture combined with modern technology makes it that much easier to indulge.
Totally agreed. We are now living in the over-exposed society. All of life has become a stage and everyone (and I mean everyone) is a goddamned actor. The internet is the purest medium for attention-starved junkies who incessantly drop their own names and link back to themselves. I won’t even get into the whole “lifecasting” phenomenon besides saying that I find it truly deprived.
We would do well to recall the sociological notions of the ‘best presentation of self’ and the dramatalogical construction of identity. Thinking critically, all of this self-promotion and “outing” of ourselves is merely a smokescreen for a generation that is profoundly insecure and, by way of compensation, needs to be constantly linked in.
As Debord would say, we are running hard to keep up with the devalued signs of life. The postmodernists are right when they say that we should dispense with any notions of authenticity, cause the genuine article is a long-forgotten relic. Not only is nothing ‘authentic’ anymore, but the word has now become meaningless.
Remember this: there are no humans on the internet.
