While we conventionally think of ourselves as “using the internet,” we are simultaneously and undeniably a part of it . We are both creators and the created. We are man and machine, becoming a new kind of man-machine being, beyond any one person’s conceptualization.

The rise of “microcelebrities” and the proliferation of online content means that connections become deeper. We feel new levels of affinity for digitally-native stars—we feel that we grew up with them and that we’re privy to the most intimate parts of their lives.