There is a lot of creating an image occurring rather than becoming who we are. I agree with Nancy Collier that creating an image is a frequent phase, especially for young people, in figuring out our identity, and that social media fosters our creating an image instead of becoming who we are, which I think is a sad and serious problem. I'm old and am not a social media user, so I created an image all on my own and then gave it up after different amounts of time in different areas of my life until now when I am who I am. What helps me avoid the trap of using life as a product to promote an image includes often not giving a damn about my image, awareness that being who I am is satisfying like an image never is, awareness that maintaining an image is work and stressful, and awareness that an image is false and I want who I really am to be expressed and known. I also believe social media and especially the technology it is part of is here to stay, so the challenge is to use it to facilitate becoming who we are rather than it be a substitute for who we are.
On Dec 5, 2020 David Doane wrote :