Contemporary philosopher Hans-Georg Moeller writes that we have entered an “Age of Profilicity.” By this he means that the reality of “you” is a product of the profile that you project to the world. Whatever inner, tactile reality of you as a person is less relevant, and you have the ability to create and discard presentations of yourself that are in fact very “real” insofar as they constitute your true presence within the world.
This comes after a pair of distinct previous eras. First was the “Age of Sincerity,” which included the Victorian Era (and pretty much the previous several centuries of Western history) all the way through the world wars. During this time, your personal success was tied to how well you embraced the social role that was assigned to you. This role could be that of an aristocrat, a farmer, a soldier, a wife and mother. Your enthusiasm in taking on your role would garner you esteem, especially if this role was not particularly natural to you. So a naturally timid man who rose to be a brave soldier would be especially admired, and a headstrong woman who dedicated her energy to her home and family would likewise be held in high regard. Your role was a bar to be met or exceeded, and you would be docked social esteem for shying away from it.
After this came the “Age of Authenticity.” In this era — aligned with the rise of the Baby Boomers — your success as a person was determined more by how passionately you pursued your “true self,” regardless of and often in spite of your expected social role. “Be your own self” and “do whatever you feel is good” replaced the ideals of duty to roles and institutions that you did not choose. You as a person were defined more by your actions than your commitments and obligations, a perceived advance from the restrictions of the past. And so plaudits were given to the man who eschewed the generations-old family business to become a poet or musician, and to the woman who rejected the pressures of marriage and motherhood to be a careerist in the big city.
But now, according to Moeller, we have moved into a “Age of Profilicity.” In this era, your true self is a simulacrum — a profile you carefully construct and present to the world that becomes “who you are” as far as the social order is concerned, despite your true self or even your true actions. In a very real sense, you are what you project to the world. You can shed roles at will, so long as you are adept at manipulating your profile. And you see influencers and celebrities and politicians able to morph themselves into new forms in ways never before possible. An information environment made for a swarm of chameleons and shapeshifters.
The “Age of Profilicity” would not be possible without modern digital technology - social media in particular. It has seen the rise of a media-run reality, and a media-run state. It’s also only possible in a world where no one really believes anything anymore. Atomized people lifted from their foundations and turned into blank canvases can be splattered with all manner of paint.
And yet, deep down, we know when it feels wrong, don’t we? That itch, that little voice, ever quieter. But still there. Yes we see these profiles, but they feel fake and flimsy. Perhaps the voice grows louder as things break under the weight of reality. So goes the cycle.
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