The world didn’t suddenly become obsessed with sameness.
We drifted into it. Quietly. Softly. One scroll at a time


BREAK FREE — A STUDY OF DIGITAL IDENTITY

 



As a designer, I’ve always been hyper-aware of how things look, feel, and are perceived — not just in objects and interfaces, but in myself.
Over time, I noticed something (unsettling): I wasn’t just designing work. I was designing myself.


I’d edit my tone on LinkedIn. Reduce my opinions on Instagram. Amplify confidence on portfolio pages. Shrink softness in public. Stretch ambition in professional spaces.

It felt normal at first — like “presentation,” like “professionalism,” like “branding.”
But somewhere along the way, it stopped being design… and started becoming distorted


What scared me wasn’t the constant shape-shifting — it was that it felt expected. Almost required. Almost automatic.



Then I began to see it everywhere:

Friends becoming versions of whoever was trending.
 Classmates turning into algorithm-friendly templates.
 Strangers curating personalities like wardrobe essentials.
 People switching selves depending on the platform, the audience, the moment.

Not because they wanted to.
 But because the internet quietly taught all of us how to: fit, blend, streamline, optimize, perform.

Without ever announcing its rules, it trained an entire generation in digital self-editing.

That’s when the question hit me with weight:

“Who am I when no one is watching —
 and who am I performing when everyone is?”

That question didn’t let me go. It pulled me into the psychology of identity, the mechanics of social pressure,
the choreography of online behavior, and the invisible architecture that shapes who we become without our consent.

What began as a personal discomfort became a full investigation into:

how identity is rewritten in the digital age —
 not by force, but by subtle, systemic nudging that feels like choice.

And once I saw those forces clearly, I couldn’t unsee them.
 So I decided to study them, unravel them, confront them —
 and ultimately design ways to break free from them.



WHAT THIS THESIS IS REALLY ABOUT?

well.. It’s not about social media.

It’s about human beings forgetting they’re human.

Identity doesn’t collapse suddenly.
 It dissolves slowly — through micro-decisions, micro-concessions, micro-conformities.



My work exposes the systems behind that collapse.


01 — THE PROBLEM

We are renting identities like Airbnbs

And buying them like subscriptions.

Online, identity isn’t stable — it’s a loop:

  • You try a trend

  • You absorb it

  • You wear it

  • You repeat it

  • You forget where you ended and the trend began

At first, these identities feel harmless “just for fun,” “just for the vibe.”
 But the longer you stay in them, the more permanent they become.

I call these:

Rented Identities – temporary versions of ourselves we put on to fit a moment, and 
 Bought Identities – the ones we’ve worn so long they start feeling like “us.”

Neither is inherently bad.
 The danger is when we stop noticing the difference.




02 — THE REAL ENEMY (IT’S INVISIBLE)

“Mental Colonization” — when your inner voice sounds strangely… algorithmic.


  • This isn’t your typical “social media is bad” narrative.
  • This is about the psychological takeover that happens when:

  • your desires are shaped by what you see

  • your opinions are shaped by what you’re fed

  • your self-worth is shaped by numbers

  • and your identity is shaped by reactions

Colonization used to happen with armies.
 Now it happens with feeds.

You don’t get conquered.
 You get curated.


*Mental colonization - A WebVR Echo Chamber Experience
A space where your own thoughts bounce back at you until you realize none of them are originally yours.




03 — THE LOOP YOU CAN’T SEE

“Identity Inbreeding” — when everyone begins to look, act, and think the same.

Imagine an ecosystem where the same behaviors, aesthetics, jokes, and beliefs keep circulating in a closed loop.

Creators → Consumers → Social Connectors → back to Creators.

Over time, we get:

  • repetitive trends

  • identical aesthetics

  • recycled personalities

  • algorithm-friendly humans

It’s the inbreeding depression of culture:
 Too much similarity → too little originality → weakened identity.

We become clones wearing different filters.

*Identity Flow Diagrams
Visual frameworks showing how identity gets shaped, distorted, recycled -  online




04 — MY ARGUMENT (THE HEART OF MY THESIS)

Digital normalization is silently reducing identity diversity.

But awareness can reverse the collapse.

It’s not that humans suddenly stopped being unique.
 It’s that digital spaces reward sameness.

My argument:

Identity today is not discovered — it is constructed under pressure.
 And normalization is the silent architect.

But the solution isn’t to abandon the internet.

It’s to use design — intentionally — to break the loop.



05 — MY DESIGN RESPONSE






If the problem is the loop, the answer is interruption.

I designed tools that force people to pause, question, and reconnect with themselves:

 A WebVR Echo Chamber Experience ( 02)
 A space where your own thoughts bounce back at you until you realize none of them are originally yours.

Identity Flow Diagrams + Normalization Maps ( 03)
 Visual frameworks showing how identity gets shaped, distorted, recycled.

and

“Break Free!” — A Card Game for Teens + Young Adults
 An interactive game that challenges players to confront their rented/bought identities, dissect comparison culture, and reclaim authenticity.

   



Design can’t save the world.
 But it can crack open a moment of clarity.

Sometimes that’s enough.


Gallery:

MFA Thesis exhibition
Thesis exhibition production process
Thesis  Class
Thesis Final Presentation