Book Recommendations: “Selfie” and “The Status Game”

As I write a book that explores the profound influence social media has had on our lives and the impact it has had on the concept of a meaningful life looks like, last month I read "Selfie" and immediately followed it up by reading "The Status Game" by Will Storr, both of which have both deeply impacted my perspective.

"The Status Game" delves into the innate human desire for status and the various games we engage in to attain it. Will explains how this hunger for recognition has always been a fundamental part of the human condition that has ultimately caused both the best and worst moments in our species' collective history.

Reading this book provided me with a profound understanding of our drive to seek acknowledgement from our peers who partake in the games we share. Additionally, it helped me recognise and challenge the biases I held regarding the worth of others' chosen games, which were based solely on my subjective justifications, leading me to openly apologise to someone whom I may have previously offended for our differing views on the value/validity of pursuing success as an #influencer on #socialmedia.

"Selfie," on the other hand, explores how the West became so self-obsessed. Will starts by diving into how the idea of the self has developed and morphed throughout our history from ancient Greece to biblical times, to Freudian theories, Carl Rogers' humanistic psychology, up to today's #digitalage. The book also highlights the pressures of #perfectionism, the prominence of #individualism and the #neoliberal landscape prevalent in today's society and how each drives our shared obsession with success and status.

Furthermore, I found it really interesting that no matter how much we wish and attempt to contort ourselves into today's modern ideal of being an “extroverted, beautiful, individualistic, optimistic, hard-working, socially aware yet high-self-steeming global citizen with entrepreneurial guile and a selfie camera” we are significantly limited by our fixed personality types. As someone who previously completed Jordan Peterson's "Understand Myself" tool, which examines personality traits using the Big Five scale, the final chapters of "Selfie" became even more revelatory to me when Will shared research on how different personality types manifest tendencies that we can recognise within ourselves.

Together these books have provided me with a comprehensive oversight of who we are as a society today, how we arrived at this point, and the underlying motivations behind our actions, and as someone working in marketing and social media, I believe these books offer invaluable insights into understanding the modern individual, and the various groups, cultures, and games that shape our lives.

From a professional standpoint, these books have reinforced my belief that successful businesses must craft compelling #brandstories and offer valuable products that deeply resonate with customers. To achieve this, it is crucial to first understand ourselves as individuals in order to grasp the inherent desires and aspirations of what a collective group seeks.

Armed with this knowledge we are better able to build the foundational marketing strategies that perpetuate our brand stories by focusing on creating a #community where individuals willingly engage and recognise each other's status and value.

We all undeniably possess a certain degree of narcissism, perceiving ourselves as central characters, heroes of our own stories, engaged in noble quests of utmost importance. However, billions of other individuals share this outlook and that is why we seek external affirmation through titles, prizes, trophies, and social media metrics to validate our status and sense of self.

Therefore, the secret to triumphing in today's attention-driven business landscape lies in creating an environment where individuals can climb their own metaphorical ladders and celebrate the importance of the games they have chosen to play and pursue therefore helps to build #customeradvocacy that ensures long-term success and #brandgrowth.

Overall, I would strongly recommend "Selfie" and "The Status Game" to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of who we are, what we desire, and how got to where we are today.