From cave walls to camera rolls, from busts to bitmojis, we have always found ways to freeze a moment, frame a mood, or flex a little status. So, while AI-generated avatars and action figure aesthetics might feel like a recent phenomenon, they’re just the latest chapter in a much longer story.
We’ve always wanted to be seen, remembered, and understood. To say, in the best medium available: This is me.
And now? That impulse has scaled into an entire industry of personal branding. But we’re not just capturing moments anymore. We’re curating full-blown digital identities. So how did we get here? What were the tipping points? And more importantly how do we use tech without losing ourselves?
Here’s my quick rundown on how we got here:
30,000 BC: Handprints and hunting scenes on cave walls are our earliest recognised identity stamps
3,000 BC: Busts and Egyptian tomb art idealised beauty, power, and permanence
1400s: Portraiture in oil becomes performance, symbolic and status-driven for the Renaissance
1839: Our images are captured on copper plates bringing staged portraits to life for wealthier citizens
1900: Amateur photography becomes accessible for the masses with the $1 Kodak Brownie
2000s: The iPhone launches in 2007, the word 'selfie' was added to the Oxford dictionary in 2013
2010s: Instagram and Snapchat filters shift from sharing moments to perfecting social personas.
2020s: Hyper-stylised 3D digital selves become the norm
From tombs to TikTok, oil paintings to AI avatars the tools evolve, but the drive stays the same.
The need to control how we’re seen by others is universal. Today, platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok are our modern canvases. Tools like Lensa, Reface, and Ready Player Me let us reinvent, exaggerate, or enhance our best version of ourselves.
Those AI action figure trends you’re seeing… They’re just a shiny new packaging for the same old instinct: to create an image of ourselves that’s memorable and aspirational.
Filters, AI edits, and curated grids are fuelling a quiet comparison culture. For younger audiences especially, synthetic beauty is becoming the baseline. With so many tools to refine and reframe, the pressure to perfect an image is undeniable. What started as This is me has slowly turned into This is the version I hope you'll like.
On the flip side there is also the compulsion to stand out. To shock. To disrupt.
As we craft our digital selves with filters, apps, and AI tools, it’s easy to forget what we’re giving away in return for these whizzy new tools. Ever filled out a “Which Succession character are you?” quiz or signed up for a store card just for the discount? That harmless data point, favourite croissant, your dog’s name, your birthday, gets added to a larger puzzle that others are piecing together about you.
Cookies track your clicks. Surveys sell your preferences. Even that AI action hero app might be collecting more than just your best angles.
Think twice before giving your data away for a quick dopamine hit or digital novelty.
We’re living in an age of boundless digital creativity. Whether you’re bold, playful, or poetic, or all three, you have the power to curate and amplify your digital brand in ways our cave-painting ancestors could never imagine.
As someone who’s spent years studying, building, and elevating brands, I’ve seen this play out before. I believe the most magnetic brands don’t chase perfection they’re alive with personality, purpose, and a bit of grit.
Curating your digital self is empowering. Just make sure you're the one behind the wheel. You can choose how you want to present your version of yourself to the world and consider how your quirks could become your signature? Use the tools at your disposal with caution!
Oh, and if you're wondering what my digital self looks like… here's my AI action hero version created with a little help from AI and a canny awareness about the data I'm happy sharing!
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