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> We have, perhaps for the first time, a clear sense that "self" has always been an illusory construct.

Interesting. Historically, a few readers of Goethe, Ibsen and Kierkegaard always knew that. It was contained. Maybe what's changed today is we are all confronted daily by horrifying evidence of the fragility of self-construction, and how precious it is - but without an explanation or coping method. Solomon and the terror management theorists don't fill those shoes any more than narcissism, and so perhaps we're headed on a trajectory back towards faith. Maybe that's the ultimate function of "social media", to show us why social media is inadequate to counter angst.