If social identities mark ways in which individuals are the same as others, self-identity (or personal identity) sets us apart as distinct individuals. Self-identity refers to the process of self-development through which we formulate a unique sense of ourselves and our relationships to the world around us. The notion of self-identity draws heavily on the work of symbolic interactionists. It is the individual’s constant negotiation with the outside world that helps to create and shape her / his sense of self. The process of interaction between self and society helps link an individual’s personal and public worlds. While the cultural and social environment is a factor in the shaping of self-identity, individual agency and choice are of central importance.

Tracing the changes in self-identity from traditional to modern societies, we can see a shift away from the fixed, inherited factors that earlier guided identity formation. If at one time people’s identities were largely informed by their membership in broad social groups, bound by class or nationality, they are now more multifaceted and less stable. The processes of urban growth, industrialization and the breakdown of earlier social formations have weakened the impact of inherited rules and conventions. Individuals have become more socially and geographically mobile. This has freed people from the tight-knit, relatively homogeneous communities of the past where patterns were passed down in a fixed way across generations. It has created the space for other sources of meaning, such as gender and sexual orientation, to play a greater role in people’s sense of identity.

In today’s world, we have unprecedented opportunities to make ourselves and to create our own identities. We are our own best resources in defining who we are, where we have come from, and where we are going. Now that the traditional signposts have become less essential, the social world confronts us with a dizzying array of choices about who to be, how to live and what to do – without offering much guidance about which selections to make. The decisions we take in our everyday lives – about what to wear, how to behave and how to spend our time – help make us who we are. The modern world forces us to find ourselves. Through our capacity as self-conscious, self-aware human beings, we constantly create and recreate our identities.

Reference

Giddens, Anthony. 2010. Sociology. New York: Polity.