Another lesson to take away, however, is that you need to refine your personal brand and know exactly what you symbolize — that is, which slice of the algorithmic network of consumer identities you represent. Eventually you run the risk of replicating the very institutions you’ve rebelled against.

When influencers are analyzing audience feedback, they often find that their more outlandish behavior receives the most attention and approval, which leads them to recalibrate their personalities according to far more extreme social cues than those they'd receive in real life.