Creation is the operative word here, whereby modern man has the freedom to create their own identity that is not forced together so strongly by social bonds or class (Bauman, 2001). Bauman (2001) posits that identity must now be personally forged by the individual, with undertones that this may be a frustrating process, in which the individual has an ever-evolving catalogue of identity choices to choose from.
As a function of modernity, technology is a modern tool that affords individuals the ‘flexible realities and freedom of choice’ from which to create a personal identity, and a platform on which to showcase it (Haslem, 2013). Further, not only do the choices themselves constantly evolve, but so too does the path of the traveller, a process that Bauman terms as ‘liquid modernity’ (2001, p125). This has produced generations of ‘chronically disembedded individuals’ (Bauman, 2001, p125) who commit to the constant re-evaluation of their identities, goals and values.
Bauman, Z. (2001). Identity in the Globalising World. Social Anthropology, 9(2), 121-129.
Haslem, N. (2013, July 27). NH Identity Lecture#1. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvnloV0nLEE
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