A new survey shows that young people now believe the way you present yourself online is more important than real life. Is our digital avatar now the priority?
If you’ve been active online at all during the last fifteen years, you’ll no doubt have made at least one social media profile somewhere.
Whether it be MSN or Myspace in the early noughties, or TikTok and Snapchat in the present day, nearly everyone is familiar with the idea of an online avatar, digital profile, or virtual version of themselves.
In fact, it would seem that Gen Zers now consider their online profiles more important and memorable than their real life, actual persona. We’re living in an age where the digital is king – and may even take precedence over reality. Scary, eh?
A new study by Squarespace has concluded that young people ‘find digital life more important and memorable than in-person life’, with over 2,000 US adults being asked a range of questions on how websites shape their everyday experiences.
60% of participants believed that how you present yourself online is more important than the real world. In addition, nearly 50% said they could remember the colour of a website better than a person’s eye colour.
Younger people also tend to have more confidence in themselves online. Nearly half of those surveyed said they make a better first impression via the internet than in person, compared to only 8% of Baby Boomers.
While these results make for good headlines and may seem shocking to some, they shouldn’t come as a huge surprise to anyone who spends a large chunk of their time on computers.
We all use social media as more than just a convenient way to catch up with friends or share photos from questionable house parties these days. Instead, Facebook, Instagram, and nearly all other platforms serve as vital tools to help us engage with world news, work, business, shopping, and a whole lot more.
There isn’t much we can do in the real world that isn’t possible online, except for, like, hugging people. But who needs that? We’re in the tail end of a pandemic, after all.
Many Gen Zers use platforms such as Reddit to find likeminded people and better understand their identity. Never before has it been easier to seek out communities that make you feel at home – which is undoubtedly a good thing.
It would make sense that younger people feel a pressure on their digital selves, particularly when so many of us use other large chat-based services such as Discord and Twitch, alongside work-based messaging apps like Slack.
We all interact with so many people via our screens compared to normal, everyday life, and we should largely expect this trend to continue.
Perhaps the Cyberpunk future of completely digital avatars isn’t too far away. Could Zuckerberg and Gates finally override our own sense of identity for the sake of data hoarding and profit? That’s another question that warrants its own article.
Until then, feel free to let me know your thoughts in the comments below. You know, digitally. Through a screen. As nature intended.
I’m Charlie (He/Him), Deputy Editor and Senior Writer at Thred. I was previously the Editor full time at Thred before moving to Bristol in 2024. As a music and gaming enthusiast, I’m a nerd for pop culture. You can find me curating playlists, designing article headline images, and sipping cider on a Thursday. Follow me on LinkedIn and drop me some ideas/feedback via email.
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