Thoughts on: the loss of self-esteem
or: What the light bulb, digitalisation and self-consciousness have in common
We are increasingly losing trust in ourselves. We are doubting ourselves as never before. But when did this phenomenon start, and what does the loss of self-confidence have to do with the invention of the light bulb and the creation of a digitized world?
We no longer believe in ourselves, in our capacities, in our abilities. The loss of our confidence is one of the foundational issues of our society today. One might not agree with this at first, since the recent movements in body- and self-appreciation, advancements in pride, equality, and inter-racial and -cultural respect have been made. On one hand, these developments should eventually all increase our self-confidence rather than decrease. And yes, that might be very much so. On the other hand, we have the increase of comparison with the ever so connected world on social media which gives the ones with the likes a temporary coat of self-confidence, yet takes it away from the ones without the likes. But I am not here to argue about these respectable movements nor about the impact of social media on our self-confidence. I am here to go deeper and further.
I argue that we are in a day and age that has never seen such a dire need to re-establish our self-esteem. How did we get here, to this society-wide lack of self-esteem? We’ve been told it goes against freedom to restrict ourselves. We have put all barriers down and one could argue that it all started with one little but great invention: the light bulb. In 1880 Thomas Edison did not only pave the way for the universal use of electric light, but he also set an end to natural time. We entered an era where suddenly there was - on a more philosophical level - no more day and night, but just day. Time ceased to exist with the invention of the light bulb. Shortly before, in 1876, Graham Bell invented the first telephone, which both eventually set the doctrine for the developments of the coming 100 years. Fast forward to the mid and late 20th century, where the first digital tools were invented and put to use. We started to enter an age of digitization and globalization. Once the 21st century came, personal computers and other digital tools would become more popular and affordable and thus become widespread all over the globe. Suddenly, the PC was no longer a big box anymore but a small 15x75x0.8 cm interactive display that puts the world at your fingertips. Now, not only did time cease to exist, but also space was opened up to infinity by digitization.
An end of time and space seemingly meant that we would 'be free' now. There are no limits, not even the sky. I can be anywhere at any time. This concept of 'having no limits' in time and space, we increasingly project onto our personal lives and this, I contend, is the moment where our self-confidence started to take a toll.
— to be continued soon —
Note: This text is not aimed at presenting a finished train of thought but rather at starting a discussion.
