SELF-ALIENATION OF AN UNFORMED IDENTITY

Abstract

This paper examines the phenomenon of self-alienation in the context of the contemporary era of hypermodernity, characterized by radical changes in the anthropogenic landscape, technological convergence, and hyper-individualism. The author analyzes how new sociocultural and technological realities influence human cognitive attitudes, adaptability, and identity formation. Particular attention is paid to the processes of reality simulation described by Jean Baudrillard, which lead to the replacement of objects with their attributes and create a new ontology of being. The paper examines the erosion of literacy, the compression of time, and the expansion of the communicative space, which pose new challenges to mental health. The author draws parallels with the existential alienation described by Camus and Sartre, which in contemporary conditions ceases to be an exception and becomes the backdrop of everyday life. The concept of “Peter Pan Syndrome” is analyzed separately as an example of a refusal to accept responsibility and traditional values, highlighting the crisis of growing up and social maturity. The connection between self-alienation, depersonalization, and derealization, which act as defense mechanisms in response to psychotraumatic situations, is examined. The author also draws attention to socially accepted autism spectrum disorders, which are becoming the new norm in conditions of chronic traumatization. The conclusions emphasize that the self-alienation of an unformed identity is a widespread phenomenon that defines new parameters of self-identification and social interaction. The article proposes viewing this process as adaptive behavior aimed at survival in conditions of constant change, but at the same time as a challenge to mental health that requires new strategies for psychological and social support.