Personal Worlds | Canvas8

The problem is, we no longer live solely among those we know well. We're now forced to refine our personalities by the countless eyes of strangers. And this has begun to affect the process by which we develop our identities.

The Internet empowered consumers to find their tribes. They choose which content to interact with, they tailor their media based on their real friends, aspirational friends, values, aesthetics, etc., they share their opinions on global platforms and they seek out the products, people and brands that align with their view of themselves.

The shift to a locked-in world has accelerated the acceptance of identity as distinct from physical body or place. We still want to communicate, socialize, and play during this time but have only a digital version to offer. Those constraints are forcing new expressions of selfhood. This is in stark contrast to the masked, distant, de-individuated p... See more