She is imagined laughing at Wilde’s call to authenticity, a notion that keeps showing up in his era’s rush toward urban mass life. Wilde’s irony, though not fully proven, hints that crowds might tempt individuals to carve out a private signature in plain sight. Being oneself would then mean simply presenting the self as visible. Yet if everyone seeks to inhabit their inner truth, the pressure to become someone else fades; each person is left to be themselves without stealing another identity.
Reading that Wilde phrase for the first time, the mind could conjure a stage where players act as empty chairs. Each chair stands for a personality, and pursuing another in each round risks losing one’s own seat, leaving a missing chair among the players. In the end, one should remain seated on one’s own chair. Therefore, being yourself becomes a weak consolation; often what we call a challenge turns into a crusade. The thrill of escaping a dull self, and the lure of becoming someone else, feels like a richer, more exciting adventure.
Be-Yourself later carried on into advertising: slogans echo the same core idea again and again. Advertising always nudges toward possession becoming being, a shift from owning to presenting a private essence. It’s a paradox: many buy a nearly identical product to express their unique self. The moral hint suggests the purchase accompanies a claim to individuality, even when that claim is manufactured against the market’s grain.
That phrase eventually morphed into a self-help staple. Bookstore shelves fill with slogans like Just do it, The experts in you, Redecorate your life, or There are things money can’t buy, all anchoring in a branding game by Nike, El Corte Ingles, IKEA, or Mastercard. It’s not because Wilde crafted it, but because the cultural current embraced it as a guide to life and purchase alike.
To claim to be one’s true self can feel banal, as if sameness hides a buried treasure. Yet there is a risk in cultivating a solitary identity that persuades others to do the same. It isn’t simply about choosing a difficult self-knowledge task; it can even signal existential distress. The real danger lies in disappearing into the crowd rather than belonging to it. A memory of a Woody Allen character in Keeping Harry Apart (1997) haunts this idea: a crisis that makes a self both visible and blurry, demanding clear focus. The struggle for distinction often requires a balance between individuality and integration.
Moved by the motto, the would-be author of life appears as a shadow seeking authorship. How many people fall under such spells, as if a handbook dictated the path? Like an oracle or a runaway pineal gland, there is a tendency to amp up personality under hormonal push, turning be-yourself into a call for sincerity and a shield against hypocrisy. Yet the urge for originality often becomes standardized. The pursuit of a truly singular self can feel as hollow as wandering through a marketplace, scanning stalls for that precious sign of the self.
proud in networks
The push for personality began with a broader range of goods and services and then moved into customization and do-it-yourself thinking. Being yourself increasingly means wandering mental aisles of consumer choices, where decisions about buying and being blend into one act of assembling identity.
The digital world only fast-tracked this celebration of separation. Social networks amplify the need not only to be proud of who one is but also to share it, since not sharing can feel like not existing. To be is to share, in the online sense.
Earlier, the public stage offered opportunities to display personal distinctiveness in streets, parties, rallies, and gatherings. Celebrities capitalized on media visibility, but now social networks democratize this effect. People’s profiles reveal moments of life as they happen, feeding others with snippets of themselves. The boundary between private and public blurs as self-presentation becomes ongoing content.
Yet there is a caveat: sharing can hollow itself out. Sharing implies giving up something of oneself, like handing over a portion of one’s life or space to others. Online sharing often feels generous, yet it can be a crafted act, and the sense of real sacrifice may be illusionary. The private things shared on networks can seem tangible and generous, yet behind the scenes, the motive can lean toward validation rather than genuine exchange. The dynamic mirrors a modern economy of attention where giving a piece of life feels like a gift, even when it’s largely performative.
Another shift is the way public feedback shapes behavior. The habit of praising one another online can turn into a contest of likes. A popular illustration shows a person with thumbs multiplying as they react to a post, a visual metaphor for the social applaud that travels through screens. The act of documenting one’s life, even in small, trivial moments, does not automatically guarantee spontaneous authenticity; it often frames a scene where what is shared is curated, positioned, and polished. The question remains: what is kept out of sight, and what does that say about living itself?
Thus, the online creed to find and present the self resembles a modern gospel, promising empowerment while revealing a manufactured sweetness. The everyday ritual includes a constant mix of self-display and social feedback, a digital carnival where personal narratives are staged and consumed. Everyone photographs, posts, and curates, turning life into a stream of small, bright moments scattered across a networked wall.
In this light, the notion of a pure, unedited self feels almost mythical. The online world favors a sugar-coated version of existence, where identity is as much a product as a person. The contemporary experience often resembles a kitchen full of sugar and spice, with each friend offering their own candy-colored slice of life. It is easy to spot the pattern: a continuous loop of self-presentation, approval, and adaptation as the social landscape evolves.
Notes: The ideas here reflect ongoing discussions about authenticity, social media behavior, and the tension between individuality and collective visibility. Attribution: University of Alicante, Department of Communication and Social Psychology, for contextual academic perspective on contemporary identity and media culture.