Identity Shift

Explore the intersection of technology and identity

Does technology cause a shift in how we perceive our relationships and ourselves?

To find the answer, global communications leader Alcatel-Lucent commissioned an extensive research study. Subjects crossed geographic, generational, socioeconomic, and cultural boundaries. Hundreds of hours of documented observation and interviews with real people led to the fascinating conclusions in these pages. While technology will never define us, this study reveals how profoundly it influences the way we define ourselves.

Coverage includes:

• The 3-P Model of Identity
  • Presentation: The Mirror Image
  • Protection: Exposing the Blind Spots
  • Preference: The (Un)Conscious Filter of (In)Finite Choice
• The Universal Laws
  • The Law of Learned Helplessness: Failure Is the Only Option
  • The Law of Illusion: Lie to Me
  • The Law of Recall: Taking It from the Top
  • Rationalization: Finding Harmony in the Discord
• Identity through the Life Stages
  • Teenage Growing Pains
  • Emerging Adulthood: In Search of the Ideal
  • The "Meet" Market
  • The Parent Puzzle
  • The Midlife Rebirth
• Who Are We Becoming?

Whether your interest lies in sociology, psychology, marketing or technology, Identity Shift examines the impact of living in an age where virtually all of our personal information and interactions with others can be available with the click of a mouse.