For the first time in history, almost anyone can perform to a potentially vast audience. Social media makes fame and influence, once gatekept by elites, more accessible than ever. But critics warn that this creates relentless pressure to please the crowd, which is, as Freud said, “impulsive, changeable and irritable.” In the US, 57% of Gen Z aspire to become influencers, yet 81% wish they could disconnect from their phones more easily. In India, influencer Misha Agarwal’s suicide sparked public anger, amid fear that the engagement metrics social media feeds to users fuel anxiety. By surrendering privacy and committing to permanent performance, critics argue we lose something vital to our humanity—the freedom to take risks without mass judgement, keep secrets, and live authentically.

Is privacy essential to being human? Should governments legislate to ensure the right to be unseen is legally enforceable on web platforms? Or are we at root social animals and performance a vital part of community that enhances rather than constrains who we are?