RUDN journal of Sociology (Dec 2015)
In search for identity in the contemporary society: Discontinuity, post-traditionalism, and individualism
Abstract
The article considers one of the most complex social problems - the formation of identity under the contemporary “new individualism”. Global transformations in the nature of social interactions are deeply inscribed in the ‘Self’, which requires significant self-restructuring of individual lives. Postmodern realities have radically changed the established concepts of identity for individuals today possess a wider range of possibilities to determine one’s identity than before. The contemporary reality is fluid, fast-moving and flexible, thus, it is no longer possible to believe in an unchanging and stable identities - they are considered to be multiple, and increasingly fragile and fragmented, to come not from the single source, but to be (re)constructed from a variety of overlapping and sometimes contradictory discourses, practices and positions. In the XXI century, the constant desire to upgrade oneself inevitably becomes a fundamental trend of the contemporary life, that is why, in the situation of the recognized absence of any sustainable worldview, identity must be highly adaptive: everything that previously was immutable becomes short-living and temporary; social patterns, standards, and models continue to change or completely escape from individuals - we all witness the “eternal” process of self-discovery in the new “shimmering reality”.
