Collective Consciousness and Self Identity

Lost or Being Redefined on a Journey to Nihilism

Grant F. Raynham

Abstract – What is being presented in this essay is a view into the relationship between loss of identity and collective consciousness within society/community and the Self. This is paralleled with the adaptions relative to the new internet/social media outer world and the possible journey to individual and societal nihilism, as is discussed from the point of view of the writer. This may or may not agree with other opinions on the subject matter, but it is one point-of-view.

In looking at today’s society there is a trend away from dialogue and connection with the existent physical outer world, the outer world that was and is a part of every human beings’ life from birth: encompassing the family unit, community, friends, workplace associates. Collective consciousness had been a phenomenon that in the civilized past had driven societal and community identity, and that was always seen as a cornerstone of society and community over time. Durkheim stated: “The totality of beliefs and sentiments common to the average members of a society forms a determinate system with a life of its own. It can be termed the collective or creative consciousness.“^[1]

Zukerfield stated that “The different disciplines that have studied knowledge share an understanding of it as a product of human subjects – individual, collective, etc.“^[2]

Collective consciousness can provide an understanding of the relationship between Self and society. As Zukerfeld states, “Even though it impels us, as a first customary gesture, to analyse the subjective (such as individual consciousness) or intersubjective bearers (such as the values of a given society), in other words those which Marxism and sociology examine, now we can approach them in an entirely different light“^[3]

Identity being what a community or society defines as the communal characteristics that define the mutuality of it and the aspects that bind its members together. Numerous theories on this were developed by the likes of Durkheim, Jung, Freud to mention but a few.

The Self as an identity exists (who I am, where I come from, the individual’s self-value based on the real community and society that surrounds the individual from a human’s first moments on earth). Furthermore, research suggests that Self and identity have significant impacts on well-being, behaviour, self-esteem and interpersonal relationships within a society and culture. Therefore, research into Self and identity in humans is crucial to acknowledge, as few other species demonstrate behaviours relating to self-recognition and identity. The key areas involved in the investigation of self and identity include self-concept, self-esteem, and self-control.^[4]

Yet society and community seemingly are losing their identity in the present day, and the Self is being negated, or has lost its relevance in today’s generation. This younger generation seems to be adrift in a sea of confusion as to their true-identity, and the loss of an established collective consciousness. In my point-of-view, identity is being lost in part due to the advancements in technology (inclusive of social media and AI), voyeuristic commercialisation of democratic process, the socioeconomic situation that is in transition, and the fragmentation of society. My assumption is that collective consciousness in past generations was driven by common thinking and sense of being within individuals within a specific group. There was in the past dialogue and exchange between members of the group that created the communal being of the individual within the community and society. Society and communities were built on the social fabric that knitted the individuals together, the communal ties of everyday life. Within this a dialogue was established that allowed for the communication and involvement in the everyday. The basic underlying concepts associated with it had emerged by the early twentieth century. Sumner, writing in 1906, captures the primary dynamics in this excerpt from his influential work Folkways: A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals:

“Loyalty to the group, sacrifice for it, hatred and contempt for outsiders, brotherhood within, warlikeness without,—all grow together, common products of the same situation. … Men of an others-group are outsiders with concepts associated with it had emerged by the early twentieth century. Whose ancestors the ancestors of the we-group waged war. Each group nourishes its own pride and vanity, boasts itself superior, exalts its own divinities, and looks with contempt on outsiders. Each group thinks its own folkways the only right ones, and if it observes that other groups have other folkways, these excite its scorn.”^[5]

“The community, on a smaller scale, developed its own basis of functionality and collective thought, the measure of our rationality determines the degree of vividness with which we appreciate the needs of other life, the extent to which we become conscious of the of the real character of our own motives and impulses, the ability to harmonize conflicting impulses in our own life and in society, and the capacity to choose adequate means for approval ends

Man is endowed by nature with organic relations to his fellow men; and natural impulse prompts him to consider the needs of others even when they compete with his own. Reason is not the sole basis of moral virtue in man. His social impulses are more deeply rooted than his rational life.“^[6]

Much of this based on the political and socioeconomic factors that were existent through the individuals who were included in the community. My hypothesis is that today that real outside world has been divided into sub-cultures that are highly affected by the media, the speed of information dissemination, and the advancements in technology. This, in part, has through the internet and social media created a pseudo community and a pseudo-Self that is in large part guided by algorithms, a new irreal outer world that exists within the real outer world, or to many can be seen as a positive option to the real outer world.

In my point-of-view, the new sub-culture, ‘the internet/social media’ has become the new outer world, although the communication is not a dialogue, but a one-way transference of information from the internet/social media to the individual, and the individual then feeds in information about him or herself. In the real outer world, there was the inherent ability for a response, not just a one-way systemic. Research from 2015 reported that globally, users spent 22% of their online time on social networks, likely fueled by the availability of smartphones. As of 2023, as many as 4.76 billion people used social media some 59% of the global population.^[7]

Cultural Media Theory focuses on the reciprocal relationship between media and culture, emphasizing how media both reflects and shapes societal values, identities, and power dynamics. Drawing on Jean Baudrillard’s concepts of simulacra and hyperreality, this theory examines how media representations construct and perpetuate cultural norms.^{[8] [9] [10]}

„This chapter explores how media has historically shaped cultural narratives, from the idealized portrayals of family life in mid-twentieth-century television to the commodification of culture through advertising. In the digital era, platforms like Instagram and Netflix amplify these dynamics, offering both opportunities for cultural diversity and risks of homogenization. Cultural Media Theory provides critical tools for analyzing the intersectionality of race, gender, class, and sustainability within media narratives, encouraging readers to think critically about representation and identity in a media-saturated world“^[11]

The pseudo-outer world is being processed in these media by algorithms…in finality by a machine, The vision being given is a utopian world where the desired perfection of the Self becomes the driving force for the individual, based on what is presented visually on the internet/social media. The desire is to have and be what one has shown and which is inferred to be what they can aim for in their everyday lives. This becomes the desire to attain the most on all levels. From my point-of-view this has also created a voyeuristic consumer lifestyle…but where is the reality in all this? When perfection is unattainable, depression sets in, then isolationism and a pulling back from society as it is…the final journey can lead to nihilism, nihilism driven by narcissism.

To overcome individual “unsatiable appetite”, as Durkheim says, “…society must have a “general will” or “collective consciousness” to which people must can commit… The collective consciousness is the one thing that society needs in order to survive. Without it, society will become ill and eventually perish… The collective consciousness… does allow us a basis for sharing our awareness of the world.”^[12]

According to my experiences with its members, in today’s younger generation there are signs that the acceptance of what has been the societal status quo (the norms based on the collective consciousness) and the definition of the Self in society/community (as it has been perceived and lived previously) is changing quickly due to a loss of dialogue, the loss of the established collective consciousness, and what could be stated to be the loss of the true Self. The true Self having been established from the individual’s first existence and their ongoing interaction with the outer world. This interaction being represented as the dialogue between the Self and the society/community as it has affected everyday life. Since the Renaissance at the doorway to modernity, the idea underlying these connections have been called ‘Mundus Humanus’, a world sui generis being made up, shaped, and kept alive by humans.^[13] This has been taken over by the internet/social media, the loss of an internal definition of the Self, the development of perfectionistic desires/needs.

In today’s voyeuristic capitalism, this is taken over in part with the aid of influencers as they fill the vacuum created by the loss of the established collective consciousness that has been seemingly filled by market driven forces (of which the phenomenon of ‘influencers’ is a part of). This is reinforced by today’s realities in everyday thinking based on the search by the individual for their true-identity. Going back in history Aristotle had stated: “That knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”^[14] In turn this affects the common conscious of the community and society. The internal definition of the Self can only take place if there is a dialogue with other humans, i.e. with the community the individual is a part of. As was stated by Ruth Bader Ginsburg (U.S. Supreme Court Justice 1993 to 2020; March 15^th, 2023): “Fight for the things that you care about. But do it in a way that will lead others to join. Whatever you choose to do, leave tracks. That means don’t do it just for yourself.” This is crucial. As well: a), there is a vacuum; b), a market-driven mechanism run by a machine takes over and offers unreal portrayals of artificial idols (the stylized influencer) to go after. This is leading to isolationism, an increasing nihilistic view of life, and a need to leave the city as a structure of lifestyle (whether this is a utopic concept or not), and in cases a desire to return to nature (not in the essence of the Green Movement), but in a want to redefine community in nature (whether this is a niche conceptualization has yet to be established). The desire to throw away the shackles of urban life, a want to create a new humanity, a so-called new freedom…but how realistic is this?

Where will be the new Self and societal identity? How will this be seen in the established Conditio Humana (the fundamental and inescapable conditions that frame human existence as it has moved through the ages, that encompasses its limitations and strength)? This is in particular holds true for today’s younger generation. There needs to be greater communication with the younger generation to get their views on their everyday life perceptions, not based on the views of established norms from community and society from older generations… a new and healthy dialogue is needed.

Identity in the past has been based on an internal perception of the Self and the ongoing dialogue between the Self and the outer world and vice versa. As a humanist conception, this has in the past been the cornerstone upon which the Conditio Humana was perpetuated through dialogue delivering collective consciousness and a societal/communal identity.^[15] In turn one sees a relationship seem to develop between the Self, community and society…the real basis of culture creating and driving a collective consciousness. What is the source of this movement away from collective consciousness, and what will be the end game after the loss of a humanist approach?

“Information online often lacks nuance, making it difficult for Gen Z to discern between truth and mis-/ disinformation. Rather than put in the effort to verify information online, many respond to this dilemma by disengaging entirely. These individuals feel as if they are living in a post truth world where any statement can be backed up with ‘evidence’ through a search online. An excess of contradictory information can cause individuals to feel cognitively burdened and ineffective at processing information, negatively impacting their confidence in understanding the world around them.“^[16]

Yet this may only be the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Collective consciousness can create a defined identity as is stated per below.

“When people come together, transformations do occur. All we must have is a collective consciousness, as it is human need, towards creating a better mankind. Collective consciousness is “baked into” the architecture of the human mind—it is at the foundation of a uniquely human psychology, wherein homo sapiens have the intent and the capacity to cooperate with beings that are living and dead, human and otherwise.”^[17]

Yet there is a defined shift occurring. It is manifested in the thinking of the younger generation.

“We are witnessing an enormous shift of collective consciousness throughout the world. We are at the precipice of great transformation within our culture and government.”^[18]

For the sake of remaining human and following a humanist approach, we cannot just have a passing interest in it. We need to define a direction to a new identity based on a new collective consciousness, and a re-definition of the Self. The re-definition would have to venture away from the basic, established concepts of Durkheim and Jung. There are other relevant theories before and after, amongst others such as Tönnies, Freud, Hegel and Renaissance writers to attempt to bring forth a definition. A definition based on a new humanist approach, considering the changes in the outer world via the internet/social media, which has totally upended the basic past’s delivered conceptualizations of the Self. This is now a brave new world based on isolationism and perfection (as viewed through the internet/social media), resulting in depression, and an opting out of the established societal/communal/city culture and dialogue related communication…a journey that is leading to nihilism and being driven by narcissism. Yet there may be two opposing forces working here, isolationism/nihilism, versus what can be seen as tendencies already at work that show a need for orientation provided by the utopic presence of influencers (who are often idolized), and the Self bubble still expressing a need for community/citizenship. They are utopian in literal terms, they are located in a non-place of a constructed, idolized identity. Which would mean in prolongation that the new collective conscious, as emerging at the moment, is the one of the isolated Self and could be one trajectory towards a near future. The identities offered by them are just constructs, artifacts. Opposed to a real human identity that is generated by and developed through the communication with community members.

What is the real storyline on the new levels of isolationism and nihilism in the younger generation today, in part driven by the internet/social media (where reports have it that youth is spending up to 12 hours a day living in this new outer internet/social media world)? Self-isolationism can be conscious or subconscious and sees a withdrawal from interaction with others. It can be driven by depression, low self-esteem and anxiety.

Narcissism comes from a need for admiration and the inability to deal with the feelings of others and sensitivity to criticism. Therefore, if a pattern starts with isolationism, it can advance to narcissism as the individual lashes out due to low-esteem and their sensitivity to criticism.

In part as a protective device. It is always easier to blame others: community and society, or even the existent real world. Is narcissism derived from the new Self, and the dysfunctional new outer world driving society/community to near extinction through the individual ceasing his or her desire to even be a part of the real world?

Years ago, Durkheim stated:

“One cannot remain so absorbed in contemplation of emptiness without being increasingly attracted to it. In vain one bestows on it the name of infinity; this does not change its nature, when one feels such pleasure in non-existence, one’s inclination can be completely satisfied only by completely ceasing to exist.”^[19]

This is a theory, looking at Durkheim’s view from the past, that seems to be a vision from Durkheim to today’s society, “Today, we really have to take into consideration a younger generation that looks to perfectionism, that can in turn lead to isolationism, and even further to nihilism. Today’s society has gone far beyond the bounds of Durkheim’s thinking. We must remember that in his time there was no internet, no social media enveloping everyday life. Since the 19^th century there was the reality of certain groups of individuals within society pulling back from a collective consciousness that moved away from Self-identity with the existent outer world. This would have been seen as a rebellion to the existent community and societal structure, and the desire to envision a new society, such as living entirely in nature, escaping from the city as it was. It was a utopian move from William Morris to Ebenezer Howard’s green city, to the Monte Verita Movement, to Ernest Callenbach’s Ecotopia, to today’s attempts to bring nature back into the city.

There was seemingly a desire to redefine their Self away from the existent Self, as well as the existent outer world. These breakaway groups did not affect the ongoing communal society of the time, had a short-lived existence and did not affect the ongoing communal and societal agendas of the times. The groundwork for this escapism and the current instability in the Self and collective consciousness was already laid in the conditions of industrialization. The German sociologist Tönnies (19^th century) stated: “Industrialization, the mass metropolis and modern life turned community into anonymous society.”^[20]

Tönnies statement reflects on the basis of industrialization and shifts in the Self, community and society. The pre-industrial lifestyle was more dependent on simplicity, the family unit and the concept of the communal lifestyle. Industrialization moved this to ‘the firm’ controlling life, and the development of community around industry. Therefore, the humanity that existed in pre industrialization was starting to be lost. The Self was in transition, as was the existent outer world, a quantum shift in the human condition (Conditio Humana). Maybe human nature began to reveal it’s a quantum shift in the human condition that caused the loss of community. Maybe this illustrates that through time, even with collective consciousness, that in the thoughts and perceptions of the Self one can feel isolation from collective thought and hence alienate oneself from the outer world. It is possible this is the point of no return to the thought status quo, and maybe where the search for a new collective consciousness begins. In other words, it could be stated as to be the point where the isolated thoughts of a few may take on a broader acceptance within the mass of society and subsequently could become the new norm, the new identity and the new collective consciousness. This is how ‘cultural streams’ develop and work, as was related recently by Dr. Ulrich Gehmann/The Ideal Spaces Foundation. The question is will the forces of the established identity and collective conscious counter this new identity and collective consciousness? Could it be the new conceptualization of identity could underlie a utopian fantasy beyond attainable reality? Could this be embodied in collective group narcissism. Narcissism is not a new phenomenon in society, yet what seems to be developing is a new narcissistic view on the individual, community and societal level, which could be seen as a very concerning trend. This deserves a fuller investigation and could be the basis of further investigation.

Could we add that present day Isolationism, leading to depression, collective consciousness/societal/communal rejection paths and towards nihilism is due to in part the Self’s narcissistic personality driving the individual from looking inside unconsciously? Therefore, the new Self then looks to the outer world, today that having been replaced by the internet/social media and what could be seen as the new voyeuristic capitalism. It seems like the real Self and pre-existing collective consciousness is at its end game. It is being replaced with nihilism and narcissism and that is becoming the new identity and collective consciousness, in fact dooming what has been present for eons in society, community and citizenship. This is the first time in civilized history that a complete new outer world has been created, as is being seen through current technology and the internet/social media. We are just beginning to live in the reality of this new outer world and how it will develop and envelope community and the Self in the future. Is there the potential that the future could become a void… an end game with no visible solution? A new beginning based on the nihilistic and narcissistic internalizations of the new generation…or are there the few in the younger generation ready to take on the mantel of leadership into this new unknown?

Will there be a split in society as to the direction and actual concepts of how community and society will progress, will there be a new status quo, or a shift that will allow for the inclusion of new norms and a modified identity?

Traditional utopias up to the present day relied on community/society. The new utopia of today relies on the individual, their so-called societal ‘atom’ from Libertarian philosophy to today’s social media. This is a very important juxtaposition. Utopia is for community if this is no longer the case, and if (an assumption) utopia is needed as a guiding light to motivate the will for social improvement, then society is over since the idea of improvement is over. Improvement, in particular, the ‘utopian’ one, has to assume the existence – now, and in the future – of a community. A ‘private’ utopia one only for the individual, is no utopia, but just a narcissistic fulfilment. The commonality being the individual getting omnipotent (the power of the Self) and is defined by the individual. Therefore, that individual becomes the ‘user’ consumer of the world. The new utopia is not utopia, but Schlaraffia a consequently individual-centred promise of maximal fulfilment of individual needs. It equals a society of consumers where community plays no role. Man as a myth of the world as app, as a quarry for the individual’s application. Cultural/religious heritage becomes transformed into post-humanism. In reality many of the young generation today from academia label themselves as ‘post-humanists’. At least it can be stated in younger academia that there is a cultural stream—woke, post-humanist, feminist for example. In the broad view how will these changes be implemented, if at all, and what will be the effects on community, society and citizenship? If not included how will this affect the social, economic and political identity and collective consciousness of the younger generation? The new technology and its implementation by the individual needs wealth and unprecedented power for these individuals to live on in their new Self bubble. This needs to be driven by the large supra-individual architecture of a networking organization (as architecture is not only buildings). That is considered the old idea of order: of the state, the city and of citizenship. The social media are the new well-designed architecture that have a largess beyond individual influence, in having a societal effect. It could be asked how to counter their influence? The answer maybe they are the ones who deliver social media in turn delivering the pseudo-outer world, driving the desires and needs of the follower. These needs are not the genuine needs of the followers, but the profit-driven needs of companies. Yet the isolationism, depression and finally nihilism this could bring on the individual is a defining process that we are in the midst of trying to understand presently. (see for instance James Bridle 2018, New Dark Age Verso, London)

Internet and social media are today essentially the pseudo outer world, they have become an intrinsic part of today’s culture. Yet it seems the Self, in particular, in our younger generation is being transformed from the imagery and written words of the social media presence in our lives. This new pseudo outer world became the relevant world in parallel to the old outer world, and as a utopia in the literal sense, its epitome is the cloud, a new immaterial reality of nebulous possibilities.

What is being presented is a utopic view of consumerism at the high end of the spectrum. This new utopia does not need citizenship, or a feeling of belonging to a particular city. This in turn drives a need in the Self-perception of the younger generation, the need to be perfect as being presented in the electronic media. Therefore, subverting the pre-existent Self with a new Self based on a newly inhaled set of normative thoughts, thoughts that individuals following social media accept as their new reality.… a new outer world. One could question that could this not be the new true dictatorship, where the dialogue stops before allowing communication with one’s peer group and society itself, the pre-existent outer world). As stated, this new world does not need real cities or citizenship anymore.

With a thank you to Dr. Ulrich Gehmann.

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Footnotes

1. Emile Durkheim, AZ quotes, Wind & Fly LTD. 2026. ↑
   

2. https://en-wikipedia.org/wiki/collective_consciousness#cite-note-zukerfield 31-14. ↑
   

3. https://en-wikipedia.org/wiki/collective_consciousness#cite-note-zukerfield. ↑
   

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/psychology_of_the_self_identity#cite.not e-3. ↑
   

5. https://wikipedia.org/wiki/social_identity_theory#cite_note-14 : A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals. ↑
   

6. Wikipedia: Moral Man and Immoral Society (Reinhold Niebuhr-1932) Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr, Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study of Ethics and Politics, Charles Scribner’s Sons (1932) – pp. 27-28. ↑
   

7. https://en.wikipedia,org/wiki/social_media#cite-note – Sterling-2016-30. ↑
   

8. Baudrillard – Agonie Des Realen, 1978 24f.; 35-40; 56f., to Model and Technique, Merve Verlag Berlin. ↑
   

9. New Dark Age Technology And The End Of Future @jamesbridle, 2018 Verso, London. 10. Richard Sennett 2006 – The Culture Of The New Capitalism, Yale University Press. ↑
   

10. Ferdinand Braudel – La Dynamique Du Capitalisme (The Dynamic Of Capitalism) – 1985 – Les Editions Arthaud, Paris. ↑
    

11. Myers, J. (2025). Cultural Media Theory: Media as a Cultural Force. In: Media Ecology for the 21st Century. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-04032-9_5 ↑
    

12. Durkheim, in Kenneth (op.cit.): 108- From the article, Collective Consciousness In Society – Grant F. Raynham – Urban Eidos, Issue 4, 2025. ↑
    

13. Thomas Leinkauf, Die Philosphie des Humanismus und der Renaissance, Page 93, 2020, Verlag C.H.Beck. ↑
    

14. (https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/2192.Aristotle), March 8, 2026. ↑
    

15. Leinkauf (op.cit.): 93f. ↑
    

16. In 2022 Daniel Siegel (December 16th) in an article in Insight from The Global Network on Extremism and Technology. ↑
    

17. Gary Shteynberg, Journal Of Consumer Psychology, Vol. 34, Issue 4, p.678-686 Published July 2024 under The Psychology of Collective Consciousness. ↑
    

18. Zachary Quinto – AZ Quotes azquotes.com/author/11994 Zachary Quinto (Biography/Personal notes www.imdb.com) ↑
    

19. Goodreads, https://goodreads.com Emile Durkheim, Suicide: A Study in Sociology. Original book: Suicide: Etude De Sociologie (1897). Ancienne Librairie Germer Bailliere et Cie. English Translation 1952 Routledge & Kegan Paul. ↑
    

20. Ferdinand Tönnies (1887) Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft Abhandlung des Communissmus und des Socialismus als empirische Culturformen, Leipzig; Fues’s Verlag (R. Reisland). ↑