We are pioneers of a digital age in which technology is a measure of self-awareness. We use our smart phones to record videos and snap and filter photographs so that we can understand ourselves more completely. What we choose to post is an extension of who we are.

Undoubtedly, this creates an unprecedented and unexplored world of anxiety when we discover rifts between who we are, and who we want to be. We desperately strive to embody our idealized self, which, today, is really much greater than “self,” so much so, that it resembles an entire entity, or “brand.” Our focus has shifted from self-awareness to brand-awareness; and once our brand has been defined, we post in complete accordance with who we believe that “brand-self” to be.

In the viral age, it is imperative that we use platforms to promote our brand-self because we must scale our reach to the largest possible audience. Posts with low levels of recognition and appreciation by our followers must be swiftly removed, lest we subject ourselves to feelings of inferiority and failure. In all honesty, it is neither satisfying nor sufficient to garner less than 11 likes on Instagram. Likes, shares, new followers, etc. all correlate to how we are received by society, and answer the question: How well does my little life measure up to the brand that I have created using social media? Life serves to bridge the gap between the self and the brand. To make a mistake, to come across as anything less than perfectly aligned with our idealized brand-self, would rattle the foundation of belief that we can be anything we want to be.

I’m not sure that I’m ready to give up my “self,” my flexibility, my diverse interests, my freedom of expression, and commit to being a “brand.” Once you achieve virality, you are petrified, taxidermied, etched into the deep recesses of the minds of those you’ve reached as one who represents a particular idea, belief, or cause. But I haven’t chosen one thing. I don’t think I ever will.

In this video, I explore my desire to speak prolifically and profoundly on subjects that ring near to my heart, and the reality that I may not be ready to project my voice to the masses.