Reflection #2 - "Curated Self"
(Snapshot from Black Mirror 3x01: "Nosedive" [Netflix])
"INAUTHENTICITY"
A Reflection on 'Curated Self'
We cannot see a person's soul when we meet them; we only see their faces in this world. The first noticeable aspect when we meet someone is, of course, what is readily available to us -- their appearance. This has led to many problems in society, such as discrimination and racism, plaguing humankind, stirring discord and hatred for years. However, with the rise of technology, a new issue is grounded on this limitation of just immediately perceiving appearances: the notion of 'curated self.' Instead of having an external feature (like discrimination committed by others), the curated self has a more internal and personal feature as I am the one who creates it and inflicts it upon myself. It is only a projection of ourselves aimed to appear as something we're not to the netizens. Our curated self is a filtered product of our fear of being judged by our flaws and imperfections. We try to mask our freckles and acne with heavy filters; we try to look fit and slim to our online friends by coping with cropping and editing our figures. Is this not a perversion of God's creative act? Is this also not an existential problem?
A PERVERSION OF GOD'S CREATIVE ACT
As a Theist, I believe in the doctrine that we are created in the image and likeness of God. We are like artworks that express the creativity of the Artist; we also portray the Creator's beauty as we are the imago Dei.
God may not have placed our flaws, and we may not be perfect, but rest assured we are good (as God proclaimed): despite the imperfections, we are good.
The image that we create for ourselves by having this curated self on the net is just like molding ourselves as something contrary to God's Creative Act. In my opinion, this is not merely an appropriation of what God has created; it is a parody of the Divine, and this parody is our perverse attempt to play God.
While we are so busy with deceiving people by only 'twitting' what others want to hear, or by only posting what they want to see, we are at some point dehumanizing ourselves; we lose an essential part of our humanity that God has put so that we act to please Him - not other people (especially those we have only met online), but Him.
AN EXISTENTIAL PROBLEM
The curated self poses a difficulty in realizing an authentic existence. My idea of existing authentically is just "being you," and this is probably better expressed by a familiar reminder that we Filipinos love to tell others: "Magpakatotoo ka." A curated self is just a fake 'version' of us, and it propagates an inauthentic existence.
This reminds me of Jean-Paul Sartre's idea of Bad Faith or 'mauvaise foi.' This notion means self-deception, where one does not self-actualize as one is supposed to and just takes an 'essence' from an external source which one did not create themselves. In having a curated self, one is taking the essence that society imposes on you for your flaws. For example, the Philippine society imposes on the Filipino netizens to be hypercritical of the current administration. A curated self in this context would adapt a kind of extreme in the form of the Dilawan, the 'anti-DDS.' But, an authentic online user would educate themselves with the politics of the country and then form informed opinions, and ultimately will create an authentic image that conforms to the real-life; one who does not reduce politics with the dichotomy of Dilawan and DDS.
The online world today challenges us to remain true and authentic to ourselves. The exclamation of the Phenomenologist Edmund Husserl "Zu den sachen selbst" or "Go back to the things themselves" resounds to us in reflecting on this curated self. In applying this imperative on a personal level, we are reminded to go back not only to any things but to our very own 'self' -- the phenomenon of our own human reality, and we are dared to live authentically as a phenomenon that deals with the phenomenon.