Why was that pseudonymous presence on the internet better? Social media platforms have made all of us minor celebrities, and celebrity is an unpleasant thing. Celebrity psychology is fundamentally anxious, burdening us with constant performance, self-consciousness and self-censorship.

I had spent so long performing myself online that without social media, I wasn’t sure how to measure my own existence. What is a life unposted? What are thoughts that no one else can hear? Who am I, if not a series of updates and images, strategically packaged for consumption?