You Are More Than a Label

"We are in a time where information needs to be extrapolated in 90-second increments to be relevant. This means that people feel they have an understanding of a topic that is based on 90 seconds of information. That understanding leads to a perception of knowledge and expertise with very little information. Sadly, we also apply this concept to our understanding of ourselves and others."

"Ninety seconds is made even shorter by labels. There is a sense of knowing everything about a person based on whatever label they describe themselves by or is assumed by others. There seems to be a sense of embracing or hating someone just based on their label. We see this play out on a daily basis on the news and on social media. Unfortunately, this concept is used to influence people in how they look at and treat one another."

"In the 1950s, Erik Erikson developed the stages of development in an attempt to conceptualize how we grow into ourselves or how we may get stuck in our development and how to grow past missed or undeveloped stages. Erikson posited that from the ages of 12-18, we are in the stage of identity vs role confusion. For earlier generations, identity usually meant figuring out what group you belonged to."

Information is consumed in short, 90-second increments that create a false sense of understanding and expertise. That shallow understanding extends to self-perception and perceptions of others. Labels shorten perception further, prompting assumptions of complete knowledge about a person based on a self-applied or externally assigned label. Labels can lead to immediate acceptance or rejection and are used in media and social platforms to influence how people are viewed and treated. Erikson's identity versus role confusion stage (ages 12-18) frames identity formation, but identity development often continues beyond adolescence and now includes sexual, political, and religious dimensions.

Read at Psychology Today