The Role of Free Will in Social Media

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I think we've always crossed boundaries, but they haven't necessarily come into a contact as much as they do in social media. I mean, is it, is, are there right and wrong ways to identify and shape ourselves? Like at some point, can we just say the community wants me to be this, but I'm just not going to go alone? We know this is, that's a, this gets into another really hairy issue of like free will. But I think let's stay with the gender for a second. I think you can move between communities and be different selves in those different Communities.

There is an image, especially in Western cultures, of the rugged, authentic, self-made individual choosing how to navigate the intricacies of the social world. But there is no mystical soul within us, manifesting as the immutable essence of self. What we think of as our "self" is shaped by our environment and our genes, and most of all by our interactions with other people. Psychologist Brian Lowery argues for a strong version of this thesis, positing that our sense of self is largely a social construct. We talk about the implications of this idea, and what it means for shifting notions of personal identity.

Post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2023/06/12/239-brian-lowery-on-the-social-self/

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Brian Lowery received his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California Los Angeles. He is currently Walter Kenneth Kilpatrick Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford University Graduate School of Business. His new book is Selfless: The Social Creation of "You."

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