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{1.2a1a2} social media encourages us to label ourselves for better visibility
topics: [[identity]]
2025-01-25 Again, changing the name here – feels more in line with my thought process overall.
This is strictly a hypothesis… Labels have become increasingly popular over the last decade, despite Gen-Xers and (usually) older Millennials working so hard to reject them. Now, especially online, it’s common to lean into labels related to sexuality, mental and physical health, gender, and more.
In a lot of cases, labeling can be useful; it gives us the language to describe ourselves, to find community, and seek resources where necessary. How can you find coping strategies for anxiety if you can’t name what you’re experiencing?
At the same time, some labels don’t serve that purpose and can actually been rather limiting. Labels, by their nature, work to distill complex information and characteristics into digestible terms — terms that other people can use to know which preconceived notions apply to you.
For example, if you are a woman who is attracted to everyone across a spectrum of genders, you might choose to identify with the labels “bisexual”, “pansexual”, or “omnisexual”. These terms all generally mean the same thing, but can be interpreted differently by different audiences or in different contexts. And context can be extremely difficult to navigate online, given things like {1.2a2} context collapse and social media working to decontextualize our identities already.
So why do we still use them? Why do we apply labels to ourselves that don’t always communicate what we want them to? Why is it becoming more popular?
My theory is that it has to do with social media searchability. You need these elements of your identity to fit into a hashtag so people you want to connect with can find you more easily.
Like in so many other cases online, it feels like we’ve prioritized visibility over communication.