Everyone Wants to Be a Brand

24 Jun, 2025

I walked by the beach in Brighton. Avoiding needles. The sun in my eyes. The constant din of the seagulls. Then I saw it. A couple were staring at the sunset. At least that’s what I thought. As I walked past them, one of them yelled “Get the camera out, the sun is orange enough.”

At that moment, I realized something. There is no spontaneity anymore. Nobody does anything just to do it. They do it for the world. For social media. For people they’ll never meet. Perfect Angle. Post. Caption. All for some social validity. It got me thinking. Does anyone enjoy anything anymore? Or is it all just a sacrifice to the algorithm gods? From the husk of the Homo Sapien, a new species crawls out — hashtag-chasing, filter-hunting, and hollower than all the relationships I had in college. Gone are the days when you could get a nice dinner with your friend Without being dragged into a non-consensual photoshoot, camera flash mid-bite. With POV shots, Hoboken filters and time lapses. It’s all aesthetics and zero personality. Even being lost has a look now. Messy hair. Foggy mirror. A single drop of tear running down the cheek. Not more. Ensconced within a caption called “healing.” Nobody dares take a different step. Show the rough edges. The nicks. The bumps. Or, God forbid, step away from the screen. And risk becoming a social pariah. Algorithms feed into this behaviour. Making you upload the perfect photo. The perfect caption. And a quote that neither sparks joy nor motivation within you.

Something vague and wise that you don’t believe but post anyway. Because you have to. It’s part of the invisible social contract. You want to date someone? Network? Make a goddamn friend? You better have your brand deck ready. You better “bring value.” Guys run a mile, soaked in sweat, lungs on fire — But the photo has to go up first. Hit the filters. Add a caption. Make it seem like discipline. Not desperation. Later, they’ll sell you supplements. Because every hustle becomes a product. Every bruise gets monetized. Every “journey” turns into a sales funnel. Women cry on camera now. Not in their beds. But in 4K. With ring light halos and mascara that doesn’t smudge. They talk about rejection and trauma and mid-sob they remind you to like, comment, and subscribe. Even pain needs good lighting. If you’re happy? Sell CBD oil. Smile wide and say it helps with anxiety. Maybe throw in a discount code. If you’re sad? Push a meditation app. Make your suffering useful. Spin it into a thread. Call it a mental health journey. Get engagement. Get a brand deal. Post a quote at the end — something about growth and gratitude. Even silence is performative now. People don’t shut up to reflect. They shut up to create tension. The next post will be louder. Better. Sharper. More optimized. And somewhere in all this— somewhere between the captions and collapse, it gets harder to tell who’s actually happy, who’s actually broken, and who’s just playing the part. Because now? Everyone’s an actor. A poster. A seller. A brand.