BIG READ: The warped self in the social media mirror
Social media makes us feel terrible about who we really are. Neuroscience explains why — and empowers us to fight back
Levi Jed Murphy smoulders into the camera. It’s a powerful look: piercing blue eyes, high cheekbones, full lips and a razor-sharp jawline — all of which, he says, cost him about £30,000. Murphy is an influencer from Manchester in the UK, with a large social media following. Speaking on his approach to growing his fans, he says that if a picture doesn’t receive a certain number of “Likes” within a set time, it gets deleted. His surgeries are simply a way to achieve rapid validation: “Being good-looking is important for … social media, because obviously I want to attract an audience,” he says.
His relationship with social media is a striking manifestation of the worries expressed by the French philosopher Guy Debord, in his classic work The Society of the Spectacle (1967). Social life is shifting from “having to appearing — all ‘having’ must now derive its immediate prestige and its ultimate purpose from appearances”, he claims. “At the same time all individual reality has becom...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.