Personal identity is affected by many factors such as external and internal circumstances. There is a lot of speculation in society about what plays a more vital role in identity shaping. This essay will discuss why external aspects outweigh internal ones and why nowadays social media is the most crucial thing in human personality.
Of course, innate characters and genetic predisposition are important in the status of a human being, but external impacts such as culture, family values, religion, and social media can totally change individuals in many aspects. Especially young people are unconsciously vulnerable to exterior means. Although many believe that their values, world perception, even aims are inherent stimuli, they are often provided through cultural, traditional, and societal frameworks. People learn who they are by interacting with their family, friends, and peers. Social approval or disapproval forms behavior and identity.
One of the most essential external factors in our century, which radically influences humans, is social and entertaining media. Unfortunately, many teenagers and children spend more time on Instagram, TikTok, and Telegram than with their close ones. From young ages, people are under mass media control, which shapes everything from emotional intelligence to appearance and political views. Trends affect the clothes we choose, bloggers and journalists impose our political decisions, and films, music, and art build our morals and empathy.
Personal identity is a complex structure that is impacted by internal characters and external life aspects. External factors provide the social and cultural context in which identity is formed. They outweigh internal factors because humans are inherently social and constantly influenced by the environment around them. Mass media is the factor that mostly shapes human personality in the technology era.