The Digital Claustrum

Our contemporary social media ecosystem is both the product of and the producer of the accelerating destruction of social bonds.

My sophisticated, independent 17-year-old laments feeling fake. Beyond curated presentations, she wonders who she really is; her multiple, largely digital selves feel phony, shallow, dissonant, and subject to multiple interpretations. Although she receives feedback 24-7, it’s hard for her to trust her relationships. Like many of her peers, she obsesses …