This kind of analysis was all the rage in the 1970's, when articles were written about how the type of car you drove advertised your inner sexual feelings and how he Edsel failed because the front grill looked like a vagina.
This might be somewhat accurate for people over 35, but it doesn't sound like any younger people I know. The complexities of the younger generations raised on the internet is something new and difficult to pin down.
The internet allows a person to escape the moderating influence of peer pressure and social norms by allowing one to anonymously be part of many different social groups simultaneously and be a different person in each one. There is no friction in mixing and matching your tribes, allowing a fluidity of identity that carries over into real life. I don't think this is captured by the article.
This might be somewhat accurate for people over 35, but it doesn't sound like any younger people I know. The complexities of the younger generations raised on the internet is something new and difficult to pin down.
The internet allows a person to escape the moderating influence of peer pressure and social norms by allowing one to anonymously be part of many different social groups simultaneously and be a different person in each one. There is no friction in mixing and matching your tribes, allowing a fluidity of identity that carries over into real life. I don't think this is captured by the article.