we partition ourselves into multiple parts. this is normal in most cases, with different “parts” of ourself seeming to be both part of the whole and self-contained – the angry part of us, the sensual part of us, even confident or outgoing parts of us that are only visible in certain contexts. see also [[internal family systems]] and [[thinking is a form of doubling]]. with some elements “partitioned” out, a more curated version of us performs for whatever audience we’re appealing to. this partitioning and performing, though, necessarily creates a shadow, a type of other self made up of the parts rejected from the performing self. we project this shadow onto others. the point of doubling is often *avoidance*, especially, according to klein, our “real shadow” – the ways our bodies exist in, are shaped by, and used for the atrocities in the [[the shadow lands]] (think of this like a collective shadow). an obvious example is a moralizing politician or idealogue who has *partitioned* some parts of themselves away to *perform* righteousness or virtue, who are often found out to be *projecting* their own desires, greed, and flaws. the web has exacerbated this doubling – [[{1.2a1a3} digital embodiment requires writing yourself into being]], and as writing is thinking is thinking is a form of doubling, this is inherent to online spaces. [[Klein, Naomi|klein]] [[Klein, Naomi - 2023 - Doppelganger|writes]]: >[My students] have nonetheless grown up with an acute consciousness of having an externalized double–a digital double, an idealized identity that is partitioned from their “real” selves and that serves as a role they must perform for the benefit of others if they are to succeed. At the same time, they must project the unwanted and dangerous parts of themselves onto others (the unenlightened, the problematic, the deplorable, the “not me” that ==sharpens the borders of the “me”==). ==This triad – of partitioning, performing, and projecting – is fast becoming a universal form of doppelganging, generating a figure who is not exactly us, but whom others nonetheless perceive as us.== At best, a [[{3.4a} your online presence is a doppelganger|digital doppelganger]] can deliver everything our culture trains us to want: fame, adulation, riches. But it’s a precarious kind of wish fulfillment, one that can be blown up with a single bad take or post. (pg. 57) >[!trailhead]- trails >⬅️ [[{1.1} identity as self-definition]] > >⬇️ [[{1.3a} we have to un-self collectively]]