Reading this reminded me of working in the virtual currency/gaming space. While the surface read of it was "oh - how terrible that we try to create status through these virtual goods that we buy", the next-level-down experience of it was "oh wow - we've always created/signaled status through the stuff we buy - it's just that, when it's virtual, it's harder to pretend that there's some other reason for it (like that expensive jacket that might keep you warm climbing a glacier but is not needed in SF)"
Similarly, while it's horrible to think about the social-media behavior she describes (and to recognize it in myself), it's also shining the light on something we already did long before social media - namely, creating and curating images of ourselves for others to see. Maybe there's a silver-edge to this cloud of social media, which is that those tendencies we have will become so exaggerated that we can't help but recognize and address their roots.
On Dec 8, 2020 Hemant wrote :
Similarly, while it's horrible to think about the social-media behavior she describes (and to recognize it in myself), it's also shining the light on something we already did long before social media - namely, creating and curating images of ourselves for others to see. Maybe there's a silver-edge to this cloud of social media, which is that those tendencies we have will become so exaggerated that we can't help but recognize and address their roots.