@fiatjaf
Social media has made obvious the extent to which humans construct their identities through bricolage or selective appropriation, like highly evolved magpies. It has always been true that the material objects contribute significantly to the image that we present to others. In some ways, social media has democratised this process, providing materials for building a self that are available to anyone with an internet connection. Liking a post on Facebook or pinning a picture to your Pinterest board is in a way to make it your own, and simultaneously, to reveal something about your tastes and interests to others. Researchers have found that approximately 80% of postings on Facebook, Instagram, and twitter, are in fact re-postings or retweets. Rather than presenting original material, they contain content, or links to content, created by other users.
Commonplace books similarly allowed their owners to construct a self-image through bricolage. While these books contained some original compositions, they more often consisted of excerpts from the works of published authors