Neoliberalism is defined by deregulation and individualization in free market capitalism. Neoliberalism exploits by enforcing societal habits that then become accepted as true. These habits are no longer concealed by a disciplinary approach, but instead by a goal-oriented philosophy that encourages an influx of positivity, online interconnectedness, practicing authenticity of oneself. While it may seem empowering, it is only a medium used to reinforce productivity and efficiency in today’s capitalistic society. 

Neoliberalism advertises authenticity in order to foster alienation. It is decorated as being “unique/honest” with oneself. With the influx of positivity of self, one then abolishes all external and internal negativity. The striving for authenticity is the practice of constantly comparing oneself to others, thus intensifying compulsive narcissistic self-reference. Authenticity is the self’s neoliberal form of production. One now needs to strive for self-discovery in an echo chamber, believing that one is the author of their own story. In our capitalist society, authenticity is expressed through consumerism. Authenticity is objectified, measured via work and purchases. This creates a depressive narcissist blindly chasing for self-discovery within themselves and through consumerism, devoid of worldly insight and thought provoking experiences that are necessary for interconnectedness and actual self-love.  

Through authenticity, familiarity becomes the bloodline of a narcissist. Anxiety is the collapse of familiarity. Anxiety is like boredom: boredom calls upon imagination and deep thought in the face of abyss while anxiety calls upon consciousness in the face of unfamiliarity. This profound anxiety has dissipated. Due to inward orientation, the only anxiety one experiences is societal: the fear of failure due to constant comparison with others. This kind of anxiety cripples true introspection. 

We live in an age where the unknown is reduced through social media and capitalistic habits. When presented with the unfamiliar and the foreign, one can turn to their smart-phones or a shopping area to calm the necessary anxiety of change. Breaking that threshold is painful but needed. It enchants thought and inspires interconnectedness. Social media is a shallow form of relationships, which can be better defined as a “ transparent network.” Hyper connectedness does the opposite of connection; Instead, it isolates and prevents true intimacy.

When one feels intimate with another, they experience all forms of closeness and vulnerability. Social media is forced transparency that relinquishes intimacy with others and with self. That protective distance that separates two people has been abolished. We are now unable to  simply be without needing to share our stream of consciousness and also are unable to experience the other as is, without a preconceived notion from their online persona. We have weaned ourselves off the wonder of unfamiliarity. We have deceived ourselves into believing we are connected with the “world” via social media. The “likes” and metadata curates our feed to what is familiar and easily consumable: a digital echo chamber.

To truly encounter another being is to be captured by their enigma. Technology has made us transparent to be objects for economic evaluation: dating is calculated and forced, friendships are quantitative, and experiences are broadcasted with no trace of intimacy. We need the enigma of the other and the world, and in order to have real experiences. The anxiety of unfamiliarity and the unknown is necessary for one’s spirit to grow, evolve, and to then close. Otherwise, living in an overtly positive echo chamber leaves an open end where the depressive fails to find closure in themselves. Without the dichotomy of embracing the alien, the depressive narcissist drowns in their self. Love is not finding your reflection. Love is celebrating that another lives, and feels so differently from yourself. From there, the love lies where the human condition bridges the two. True love is duality and being able to experience the world from another’s perspective, and to leave behind the habitual and familiar to reinforce empathy and open-mindedness. True love is embracing duality for both the self and for the other.