Róisín Lanigan is a writer and editor based in London and Belfast. She works at 

Gen Z’s identity, more so than any other generation, is inextricably linked to the digital world. A 2019 survey found that 66% of them believe the internet will bring us closer together and 58% can’t go more than four hours without internet access before becoming uncomfortable. What’s more, when asked which value or attribute was most important to their generation, Zers ranked tech-savviness (19%) almost as highly as freedom (22%). 

 This goes some way to explaining the tendency among Gen Zers to become almost ‘transhuman’, or to use digital avatars to communicate their identity, whether that’s through Twitch streaming, by adopting an anime avatar to comment on videos, or relying on TikTok filters when posting clips. 

Nowhere is this clearer than in the transformation of the humble selfie. Since entering the common lexicon in the early 2000, the act of posting pictures of yourself online has moved far beyond accusations of narcissism. “I suspect that most just use selfies to commemorate/document events,” says Dr. Pascal Wallisch, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at New York University. “As most people lack a court photographer to follow them around, they have to take these pictures themselves. The motivation is not primarily narcissistic.” 

The events of 2020 emphasised how the selfie has also become a way to show solidarity and social progress. While they may have been regarded as out of place and self-involved during a year of crisis, people have been looking for better excuses to post their most flattering photos – and finding them in service of both the greater good and fashion. The best example is, of course, the advent of the vaccine selfie, which has become an act of ‘selfie citizenship’. From health workers to politicians to influencers, posting a vaccine selfie has become a rite of passage or even a historical moment. “It may end up being one of the most iconic images of this time,” said Jeanine D. Guidry, an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University focusing on public health and health communications, to 

But how else have online expressions of identity evolved? How are different tools and channels enabling people to showcase their multifaceted digital lives?

Having grown up in the digital era, Gen Zers are more aware of the performative power of the selfie and how it’s shaping perceptions of self. But no generation is immune, with research suggesting that social media is so powerful now that we don’t develop an inherently individualistic self at all, instead developing our identity through what we want to showcase to others. “We have now started to study how self-presentation can be attained through social media, especially since the addition of the front-facing camera has helped consumers present themselves on these apps,” explained marketing professors Alexa Fox and Pom Nakhata to Canvas8 in 2018. 

 Whereas Gen Yers and Xers are more likely to perform their sense of self through selfies or videos, offering candour through #nofilter posts, Gen Zers take it further, subverting selfies into a medium for creative experimentation through which to, for example, play with 

While it sounds counterintuitive, selfie manipulation may be viewed as a backlash to the inauthenticity of the original selfie movement, wherein movements such as 

 were called out as tokenistic and hollow. However, people have also found ways to communicate sincerity via selfies, particularly during the pandemic. “I would wager that vaccine selfies are viewed as more acceptable than other selfies,” says Dr. Ysabel Gerrard, a lecturer in digital media and society at the University of Sheffield. “One of the things long argued is that selfies are socially synonymous with vanity, especially when they are taken by young women. But a vaccine selfie feels different. For some, it’s a celebration. For others, it’s a political act, perhaps to normalise the COVID vaccine and reduce social anxieties. And for lots of people, vaccine selfies might represent something else entirely.” 

 Brands and celebrities have been leaning into the power of this photo format, using vaccine selfies as a multi-layered opportunity. They can be seen to be doing their bit to help end the pandemic while raising their profile and that of their brands. 

The evolution of the selfie from aesthetic to values-based – and the tensions inherent in this transition – is happening at a time of increased awareness of being surveilled both online and offline, especially among younger users. At the most sinister end, we’ve seen Hong Kong residents delete their digital identities 

 of being tracked by Chinese authorities. But it’s happening across the globe. A 2019 report from Freedom House estimated that nine in ten internet users were being monitored online through the use of AI and social media. 

The sense that we are constantly being watched – particularly by employers – is difficult to ignore. There exists, then, a desire to hide parts of our digital selves and a fracturing of our personal persona from our professional persona, as exemplified by students altering their digital presence to evade or resist employer surveillance. “We are in an arms race to make the best possible appearance,” says Wallisch. 

Gen Zers are expanding their online personas through play

As our online experience becomes our primary experience, social media is starting to facilitate more communality to balance the individualism that has previously dominated online. “Modern culture gives us lots of opportunities to ‘compare and despair,’” says Wallisch of the existing landscape. “In the age of social media, it is hard not to constantly compare oneself to a typically highly edited version of the lives of others.” 

 While once the digital world existed to be a platform for an aspirational, curated version of yourself, it’s now more mundane and realistic – a place for TikToks listing your daily routine or Finstas where you 

 without caring about the aesthetic. Indeed, in response to the pressures that social media has incubated, coupled with the devastating impact of the pandemic on mental health, people are searching for alternative ways of expressing themselves online, whether that’s finding light joy on TikTok or seeking more 

The desire to find distance or relief from the dopamine-driven behaviours on platforms such as Instagram is already being picked up in wider culture. Brands are becoming more aware of the tendency to curate and compare, and we can see this in the tonality of their campaigns, which increasingly focus on authenticity and self-love. In April 2021, for example, Dove launched its ‘Reverse Selfie’ campaign, which focused on retouching apps – used by 80% of Canadian girls by the age of 13 – and the way they can distort beauty ideals. 

 The campaign speaks to how social media can profoundly affect how users perceive themselves. Instagram has even acknowledged its role in perpetuating unhealthy comparisons online by experimenting 

As the behaviours on each digital channel become more fluid and subversive, people are using their platforms to help raise awareness and fight oppression in whatever limited ways they can. For example, while social media was blamed for spreading misinformation during the pandemic, users also helped spread essential public health information and messaging. 

“What’s interesting to me is that social media has always been used in this way, but since we’ve seen things like protest bans and decreased access to public spaces during the pandemic, social media has taken on a different meaning for many people,” says Gerrard. “My sense is that social media might also be being taken more seriously now. Given our necessary reliance on technologies like social media during the pandemic, I wouldn’t be surprised if it continues.” 

 Highlighting the increased role of social media in disseminating information, the 

 subreddit has over 2.4 million followers as of July 2021, and 53% of Americans regularly turn to the likes of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for news. 

People want social apps to right some of the wrongs they’ve created

As the internet becomes an integral part of our lives, discussions around the concept of the metaversal self and how to construct a true digital identity are growing. For instance, video games are increasingly being used as a fantasy extension of the self or a way of communicating part of one’s personality. According to a UK-based study, 65% of 11- to 16-year-olds say that gaming has helped them imagine being someone else. 

 Meanwhile, 71% of Highsnobiety readers say that the video games a person plays says a lot about their character and interests. In much the same way as people use brand choices to express part of their identity, gamers say that playing fantasy or first-person shooter games says something about who they are as a person. 

Much like in other industries, gaming consumers are increasingly seeking the individual touch. To accommodate this desire, Nintendo reaches out with loyalty points and deals on customers’ birthdays, while Playstation provides annual personalised ‘wrap ups’ to all its players, letting them see how many hours they spent gaming and what they enjoyed playing the most. 

 This isn’t lost on fashion brands, who have swiftly moved to allow gamers to customise and upgrade their virtual identities. Burberry, for example, 

The normalisation of non-human digital selves has led to the growth of VTubers – streamers who host shows as avatars rather than their faces. At its most meta, you have examples such as the Miko Project, where an individual known as The Technician both streams as her own avatar but also hosts a show as herself after streaming. “The Miko Project combines the intimacy and spontaneity of live-streaming with the interactivity and limitless possibilities of the virtual world,” writes Tom Faber for 

. “Her explosive popularity has turned a one-woman operation into an entertainment venture with a full team behind it.” 

 Such meta performances are growing apace. In May 2021, Polygon reported on a series of VTubers who all streamed from hot tubs, noting that as they’re freed from the confines of having to actually be on camera, VTubers can deliver more creative and perhaps engaging experiences. 

These subversions and fragmentations of the self embody the fluid loyalty of younger audiences, who hack, rewire, and rework digital norms to suit their needs. “Social media is often considered to be a young person’s game, and while that’s not always true in terms of demographics, kids are the ones who decide who makes it in Silicon Valley,” says Gerrard. “Just look at suddenly-popular apps like Sarahah, originally designed to be an app for giving feedback to your coworkers but transformed into a secret-telling app by tens of millions of kids. Young people are setting the agenda in ways we haven’t even considered, and (sometimes misguided) concerns about their safety dictate how the rest of us experience social media.” 

How can digital avatars be used to recreate IRL experiences?

The events of 2020 have seen people re-evaluate their values and there’s a desire for more purposeful forms of existence in general. This creates a space and opportunities to facilitate and celebrate more meaningful forms of selfie culture. Selfies have become less of an everyday nuisance and they’re now regarded as a form of art, leading to the development of installations and pop-up galleries around the world known as 

. That said, as people call out inauthentic statements and proclamations, attempts to ascribe meaning to a selfie will only really thrive if they also acknowledge the performative nature of the medium. For example, 

 used the selfie as a way of making fans feel like they were winning together when they were unable to watch matches in the stadium.

Whether stuck at home or not, people are investing more in their digital identities, and they want avatars and profiles that reflect their personalities across all the social platforms they use. In fact, one 2020 study found that the greater a person’s authentic self-expression is on social media, the more positive their sense of wellbeing. 

 This presents a big opportunity for fashion and luxury brands, particularly within gaming, where players and consumers can buy digital ‘skins’ or fashion items that exist solely on the internet. 

 There’s also a space for brands to use technology for social progress and to promote intersectionality. 

, for instance, looks at the impact technology has on culture and how Black users, in particular, influence the creation of technological products and the dissemination of digital artifacts. In addition to improving racial equality, this can also advance the cause for LGBTQ+ rights, where representation in gaming is finally beginning to improve. 

While fears about the impact of social media on mental health are widespread, digital spaces are also powerful subcultural incubators where people can find their communities. “Digital identities are complicated. Sometimes kids want to create a singular, stable presence across multiple platforms and sometimes they want to explore different facets of their identity across different platforms,” says Gerrard. “Some kids fiercely reject social media, but that’s still a conscious decision to 

 have a digital identity. Too often we focus on the purported harms of social media when it’s actually been proven to be a positive space for so many young people, especially those with stigmatised or marginalised identities or interests. It’s a place where so many of us find ‘our people’, and the same goes for kids.” 

 of 11- to 16-year-olds in the UK say that video gaming has helped them imagine being someone else 

Association of UK Interactive Entertainment, 2020

 of Americans say they sometimes or often turn to social media platforms for news content 

 of Gen Zers claim they can’t go more than four hours without internet access before becoming uncomfortable 

Selfies remain a valuable tool in communicating one’s online identity, though they’re now often used to document moments and signal solidarity

Forming a curated and aspirational online identity is no longer a priority, with many social media users instead pursuing deeper connections or light joy

Digital avatars have enabled people to refine their online personas or create entirely new ones through which to connect with others

Dr. Pascal Wallisch serves as a professor of psychology and neuroscience at New York University, where he studies a diverse range of topics including psychopathy, music, and the nature of disagreement. He is a TEDx speaker and writes for Slate and Creativity Post. His most recent work studied the concept of narcissism on social media and posits that it is fuelled by insecurity, not grandiosity.

Dr. Ysabel Gerrard is a lecturer in digital media and society at the University of Sheffield. Her current research explores social media platforms’ content moderation policies and she is preparing to release her first book on the to pic, The Platform Generation: Young Lives and Social Media Content Policies. She is currently a member of Facebook’s advisory committee on suicide and self injury, and contributes to numerous publications.

Global

Communications

Technology

Business Wire

Digital Native | Substack

Interview with Dr. Pascal Wallisch conducted by the author

The New York Times

Canvas8

Interview with Dr. Ysabel Gerrard conducted by the author

Insider

Vogue

Forbes

PR Newswire

[20]30315-0/fulltext#seccestitle120">The Lancet

Pew Research Center

BBC Newsround

Highsnobiety

Sailthru

The Financial Times

Polygon

Nature Communications

Elle

The Washington Post

After a period of rapid digitisation, in which people relied heavily on the internet to facilitate meaningful connections, modes of visual self-expression have moved far beyond the performative selfie. In this new era of metaversal living, how do people want to curate their virtual identities?

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