Abstract

Given the culture of self-presentation on social media or self-objectivation with self-tracking devices, Sartre’s notion of bad faith has become an important point of reference for discussing practices of subjectivation in digital lifeworlds. Contrary to the accusation that the digital self acts as a lever for bad faith, digital applications can also be the starting point for authentic relations with the self. This paper discusses digitally pre-structured aspects of possibilities for authentic self-representation. Representativeness (a), non-reproducibility (b) and instantaneity (c) are highlighted as key features of self-referential digital practices. The authentic digital self a) exists both analogue and digital as the same person, b) cites other people’s content while referencing its own freedom of choice, and c) seeks to create a moment of shared affective attention in which a gap between digital and subjective temporality makes room for acting authentically.