Thread by @theunfoldingway

life, for me, is a doing
and never a done

this way, it stays blissful

this is my problem with identity
identity feels too much like a done

it's taken as an unchanging thing

that, to me, feels like a prison
and not a wide open field

not a brand new thing
to be held in wonder

we would normally acknowledge changes and growth in our identity through the association of new roles

but with the internet and the possibilities of what we can create, the reliance on roles to perform this function feels like an old world method of identity change

what's possible with our online environments is a much greater fluidity of identity, through experimentation and anonymisation

this seems a playful way to hold, alter and to destroy identity

for me, doing most of our sharing & posting under profiles in our given names, is unavoidably playing the old world competitive game of growth & acquisition of status

it reifies the named identity; the one which already belongs to others in our lives

thus change is slow & hard

i care not for the default feedback & reward mechanisms of social media

i care for the change, directionailty & breakthroughs that sharing makes in myself, and as an optional bonus, that of any readers & followers

these are the wholesome effects of using social media

addn thoughts on old world vs new world personal exploration & change:

the old + slow is project, hard-won/ tightly-held/awarded/permissioned role & identity-based

the new + fluid is experiment, easily-launched & discarded/lightly-held/permissionless avatar & creation-based

sure, social media can speed up the growth of our existing identity with the know-how & willingness to consciously play the environment in order to grow one's trad, real & role-based identity

but it feels like a trad-economy ponzi scheme in which there are ultimately few winners

not to mention

· hacking people's attention for personal growth feels a parasitical method of proceeding through life

· the content-farming methods of some of its bigger players

it's a further weirding of economics
i don't feel comfortable participating using its default modes

i would just add one more thing:

narcissists will tell you exactly what they're up to by projecting their most cherished techniques as the shameful behaviours of others

watch for the framings
watch for the warnings

watch for the depicted utopias

watch for the attention sucked

watch for the cultivation of the many orbiting others in which they are the large & growing centre

the goal is always that they will do nothing but gently pull, push, and manipulate

whilst others get themselves in a spin competing for the centre's attention

fuel & supply

so here, i more quietly find ways, outside the default modes of the medium, to feel my way through a more creative & exploratory method of personal change & creation of value

perhaps developing new, quieter, more attuned & nuanced senses as to the characteristics of these media

so what's that going to look like going forwards, here?

i've pretty much kinda no idea

and what a blissfully fun & wild prospect that is 🤪😍