Finding the self online: Identity, algorithms, and the digital mirror

Finding the self online: Identity, algorithms, and the digital mirror

Author: Charts & Leisure March 26, 2025 Duration: 47:15

In this special crossover episode with Never Post, Unravelling host Kurt White joins writer and digital media expert Mike Rugnetta to explore how the internet shapes identity, self-perception, and mental health. From TikTok trends to the eerie accuracy of algorithmic recommendations, they unpack the tension between authenticity and performance in online spaces. How does the internet reinforce or distort who we are? What happens when our digital selves feel more real than our offline ones?

They also explore surprising parallels between online spaces and therapy, both offering structured spaces for identity exploration, while discussing the dangers of rigid self-concepts and the necessity of relationships in making sense of our experiences. Ultimately, this episode offers a hopeful perspective on engaging with the digital world: with awareness, playfulness, and the power to shape our own narratives.

Listen to Never Post, A Podcast About and For the Internet: https://www.neverpo.st/


There’s a thread that connects our inner lives to the culture we live in, and Unravelling pulls on it to see what emerges. This isn’t a lecture series, but a conversation guided by therapist Kurt White and journalist Mary Wilson, who bring their distinct perspectives to every discussion. They explore how mental health is woven into everything from our daily fitness routines and societal pressures to the art we consume and the relationships we keep. In each episode, you’ll hear from experts who study the mind alongside individuals sharing their personal, lived experiences, creating a dialogue that feels both intellectually rigorous and deeply human. The aim is to move beyond simple definitions, examining how anxiety, resilience, joy, and struggle shape our collective reality. Produced by Charts & Leisure, this podcast provides a space for nuance, challenging the idea that our psychological worlds exist in a vacuum. It’s for anyone who has ever felt the tension between their private thoughts and the public world, offering not easy answers but a more textured understanding. By listening, you become part of a broader exploration into how compassion, for ourselves and our society, can actually be built from a place of genuine curiosity.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Unravelling
Podcast Episodes
The psychology of the Black experience [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:03
In this episode of Unravelling, Kurt White sits down with Professor Nnamdi Pole, Harold and Elsa Israel Professor of Psychology and Chair of the Psychology Department at Smith College, to discuss his course, The Psycholo…
What you don't know about alcohol [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:56
In this episode of Unravelling, Kurt White sits down with his colleague Dr. Geoff Kane, MD, MPH, Emeritus Chief of Addiction Services at the Brattleboro Retreat, to delve into the evolving understanding of alcohol’s heal…
The riddles within: Crosswords, anorexia, and feminist history [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:17
In this episode of Unravelling, Kurt White sits down with Anna Shechtman, author and renowned crossword creator, at the Brattleboro Literary Festival to discuss her book, The Riddles of the Sphinx: Inheriting the Feminis…
Family estrangement: Breaking ties, building community [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:26
Description: In this episode of Unravelling, Mary Wilson speaks with Angel Cassin, CEO of Together Estranged, about the complex and often taboo topic of family estrangement. Angel shares her own journey of going no-conta…
Democracy and distress: The mental health impact of politics [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:34
In this episode of Unravelling, Kurt White speaks with Dr. Kevin Smith, a political scientist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, about the connection between politics, stress, and mental health. They discuss Dr. Smit…
The embodied wisdom of peer-led approaches [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:19
Description:This episode of Unravelling delves into peer-led mental health care by exploring the work of Stefanie Lyn Kaufman-Mthimkhulu, founder of Project LETS. This national grassroots organization centers the voices…