In a recent class on authenticity, many participants preferred being able to project an acceptable image of themselves rather than being authentic. Though immediate reactions to this sentiment echoed concern, it later seemed rational. Tech today is great in its ability to quantify scientific achievements. Tech also has given birth to the phenomenon of immediate quantification. Numbers are all around and describe everything, immediately. Popularity and traction today is quantifiable and even friendship is measured using numbers. Numbers, but, describe only situational constructs. So, if numbers are the end, authentic means are no longer necessary to create those situations as authenticity is needed for time-tested creations.
I took a train from Chennai to Delhi late December last year. This was the first leg of a long vacation in the Himalayas and I was excited returning to the places I had once walked on as a child. My fellow passengers were a variety of people and the group would have excited the researcher I am today as the perfect sample. The mix also meant the thirty-six hours would eventually result in a few friendships and a few judgements. Nevertheless, I had this goal in mind to be the popularly remembered one among the lot by all. My idea was to make as make people happy to spend time with me without anyone figuring out the agenda I had. It wasn’t easy because of the composition of the crowd, but eventually I got the hang of it. Slowly we formed sub groups within the compartment and started sharing life experiences that we thought were relevant. These groups were on similar ages, similar languages and similar food preferences; and some members even overlapped, forming the group of overlapping members. To each group I changed the way I spoke, my body language and even my anecdotes. If all the people I spoke to came together, they may describe the true me better than I could. The journey was exciting beyond measure and it was like playing a game I had designed. Eventually, I had made friends from many walks of life and had heart-warming invites to visit homes and ‘stay-in-touch’ requests. I had fun.
When I got back and later described this scene to a friend, she described my actions as inauthentic and expressed that I’d rather made one true friend than be popular among many, in different portrayals. It seemed logical to argue that point of view, but I was authentically trying to play different roles, true to each and unique among.
Authenticity cannot be hidden, neither can its lack of. But to sacrifice authenticity for immediate gratification seems less fun, as it requires great thought and effort and could be never-ending. People have an opinion about how other people opine and here bias plays the double agent. If content is driven by opinion, then authenticity is questioned. This could even be considered, and excused, as how things work in the high paced connected era.
However, if morality is sacrificed for opinion, authenticity dies and with it the confidence in one’s true self.
Comments