I think that, for a lot of people, "being honest [about themselves]" summarizes to a fairly unambitious set of life goals and experiences that are locally socially oriented. This is mostly because they work with what they know. To rephrase somewhat: I think that many people see life through the lens of their peers and current status in the working and social spheres, and don't generally take the time to think beyond that.
This explains the rampant success of Facebook. This also gives several social groups a distinct advantage in the current system. One of the commonly discussed ones is so-called "WASP" culture: a culture dominated by loud, aggressive, and typically testosterone-oriented social males. Their culture is easily communicable in terms of the social structures that exist, because these vocal, aggressive tendencies lended an almost sociopathic social advantage to their previous generation. Much of the old and calcifying social structures that exist are the result of this form of loud, pre-Internet social darwinism, though it's looking like they're being out-competed by memetics and easily communicated ideas.
tl;dr: I think that we're seeing this shift to authenticity, where "authenticity" does imply a broader spectrum of social mores, values, and unique perspectives on identity. This is only natural when cultures intermingle on such a global scale. But, it also needs time to digest the structure of the previous generation. I see quiet assertion of identity and evidence that other cultural models are stable as a sort of digestive aid, and I am more than happy to see calcified, unambitious, and unaccepting social subcultures broken down in the process.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2013-06-07 07:46 pm (UTC)This explains the rampant success of Facebook. This also gives several social groups a distinct advantage in the current system. One of the commonly discussed ones is so-called "WASP" culture: a culture dominated by loud, aggressive, and typically testosterone-oriented social males. Their culture is easily communicable in terms of the social structures that exist, because these vocal, aggressive tendencies lended an almost sociopathic social advantage to their previous generation. Much of the old and calcifying social structures that exist are the result of this form of loud, pre-Internet social darwinism, though it's looking like they're being out-competed by memetics and easily communicated ideas.
tl;dr: I think that we're seeing this shift to authenticity, where "authenticity" does imply a broader spectrum of social mores, values, and unique perspectives on identity. This is only natural when cultures intermingle on such a global scale. But, it also needs time to digest the structure of the previous generation. I see quiet assertion of identity and evidence that other cultural models are stable as a sort of digestive aid, and I am more than happy to see calcified, unambitious, and unaccepting social subcultures broken down in the process.