living on display & the price of being seen

We live like storefronts now, always lit up, always on display. It is not just celebrities who perform for an audience; it is everyone with a phone in their pocket. The stage is endless and invisible, and most of us step onto it without even realizing.

Being hyperactive on social media creates a strange paradox. The more we post, the less it feels special. Online habits bleed into offline life too. The way we experience reality has been shaped by the knowledge that it is almost always being curated for others.

But the exposure is not entirely negative. It makes people think more carefully about what they align with, how they present themselves, how they speak. But sometimes, I sit and think, if humans were able to integrate traditional ethnic culture into our daily life and society, why is adapting to the overexposure a taboo concept? Why have we demonised the consumption of content? Me, Personally, I draw so much inspiration from the content I am advantaged enough to consume. I create because I consume. We live in a generation that knows how to brand itself from a very young age, and that skill translates into careers, opportunities, and communities. The visibility that once felt like surveillance can also feel like empowerment.

At the same time, I know this constant circulation of images, aesthetics, and lifestyles comes at a cost. There is almost no such thing as rarity anymore. When everything beautiful is a scroll away, beauty itself begins to feel less valuable. We chase novelty just to feel something, knowing that the high will dissolve within seconds. It is not that the internet ruined our attention spans, it is that our attention is no longer moved by the ordinary.

And yet, maybe this is simply the new way of living. To be aware that we are on display, to carry the pressure and the privilege together. Our generation has adapted to this reality, and whether it burns us out or pushes us forward depends on how we decide to hold it. Perhaps living on display is less about the price of being seen and more about how we choose to spend that currency.