There’s no such thing as authenticity?!

Wait… what? It’s literally the subtitle to my book 🤯. I was speaking with my very awesome friend, Jon Levy and he shared this idea that there’s no such thing as authenticity. Rather, authenticity is simply reflecting back what others expect to see from us.

So, it’s really about social constructionism.

Social constructionism says that our sense of self is created through social interactions and cultural norms. It suggests that we view authenticity as a socially negotiated concept, rather than an inherent quality. Now, this may run counter to what you grew up believing – that your unique characteristics and how you behave are driven by internal factors. That’s because social constructionism states that environmental factors are what influence your behavior, and there’s no such thing as true authenticity.

Wait, is there science behind this?

I did a little reading and learned a few things.

1. Erving Goffman wrote the book, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. In it, he uses the metaphor of theater to describe social interactions and how they shape the way we see ourselves. He argues that we then invest in “impression management” to sway how others perceive us, maintaining a desired image by adapting our behavior. In short, he suggests that authenticity may simply be a performance that lines up with social expectations.
2. Dan McAdams is a professor at Northwestern University, developed the theory of narrative identity. This theory says that we construct a sense of self by creating and internalizing our life stories. And these narratives give us a sense of purpose, lending meaning to our lived experiences. In fact, how we narrate our life can be key to our well-being. Also, when we’re feeling out of sync, we can simply reshape our stories.

The key ideas are that:

• Knowledge is socially created: How we see the world is shaped by social interactions, vs. a definitive reality.
• Reality isn’t fixed: Rather, it’s constantly dynamic and changes through social interaction.

What do you think?

The above would suggest that authenticity is expressed by displaying our character as others would expect to see us. And maybe that’s true to some extent. But I stand by the idea that we maintain a deeper sense of self which isn’t only informed by those around us.

Humans are complex and while much of how we view ourselves is through the stories we tell, those self-narratives shape how we engage with others… which shapes who we become… and when represented consistently… can become our expression of authenticity. I learned a lot from my interesting conversation with Jon and the subsequent reading. Now, I conclude that authenticity is a complex thing. It’s the dynamic interplay between our internal sense of self, our narrative, and our social interactions.