21st Century Bunburying: Identity in a Connected Society

(Author's note: This paper was written during my undergraduate study to explore how Oscar Wilde's social commentary can be applied to life in the 21st century. The paper focuses on establishing a frame in which 19th century Victorian social expectations have resurfaced in social media.)

In the 21st century we seem to have rediscovered an invention suggested by Oscar Wilde in The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). In the play, the main character, Jack, is caught using a fabricated identity to spend time in the city while shirking his responsibilities at home in the country. Algernon Moncrieff catches his friend Jack using the false identity of Ernest Worthing. Algernon is none too surprised that Jack is leading this double life, as he has a double life of his own centered around an invalid named Bunbury, which is the source of the term "Bunburying": Algernon uses the identity of Bunbury to escape the city and relax in the country. In the 21st century we continue the practice of Bunburying; every day we take to social media, wearing a variety of personas in order to satisfy our online audience and escape judgment in real life.

In the Victorian era there was a strict set of social norms and etiquette, described as numerous rules to follow in order to please your fellows. "This complex system of rules followed the 'usages of the (so termed) "best society"' and instructed readers on how to eat, greet, meet and generally, how to become part of this 'best society'" (Kapp, 13). Today, the image in the collective consciousness about Victorian etiquette is of stiff formality, but the practice goes beyond that, prescribing not only how one should behave with company, but also how one should live. Failing to adhere to these standards would, inevitably, lead one to become an outcast from society. The mindset was that of perfectionism; the rules were constructed to produce an outwardly flawless appearance. The cost of this appearance was individuality and authenticity; the perfection was entirely superficial, and anything that threatened it, such as fruitful discussion, was highly frowned upon.

Today, in the 21st century, we have developed our own set of social norms that center on how discourse is achieved in the digital world. "An enduring theme in the study of communication technologies is the way culture and technology shape one another" (Nagel, 2). Computers have ascended to such a position in our lives that we are almost unable to function, as a society, without them; their pervasive influence has changed how we interact, how we think, and how we live. This is especially apparent when we look at social media -- Where once information traveled about as fast as one could talk about it to their friends and neighbors, now it travels at nearly the speed of light and across the planet. Social media spaces such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok have become the main channel for our communications. These spaces have felt out the territory of computer-based communication, and have molded their platforms to suit it. In the process, they've shaped how we interact: On X (formerly Twitter), users share short messages that can be liked, shared, and replied to. "User engagement is a key performance indicator for digital organizations; user growth (e.g., followers, subscribers, etc.) and interactions (e.g., likes, comments, shares, etc.) are common measures of organizational success across social media platforms" (Aldous et al., 1). These options represent engagement with the platform, and the companies running these platforms take great notice of that engagement because it indicates a monetizable interaction. The platform encourages engaging posts by algorithmically selecting highly engaging posts to show to other users. "A tweet was considered to have been ratioed if it had more replies than likes. Generally, a ratioed tweet is a sign that an account has posted something offensive or insensitive, as people use comments and replies to express their dissatisfaction in greater numbers than those who show approval via likes" (Troy, 7). The idea of being "ratioed" has emerged from these three numbers -- Likes, shares, and replies -- describing a message that receives more replies than likes, indicating significant disagreement about it's content within the community. This is often viewed very negatively; even one ratioed post can severely tarnish a user's reputation, regardless of the content.

In the 21st century, we have commoditized this practice of fabricating identities; pseudonymity, using a false or fictitious name, is something that has become commonplace alongside the proliferation of digital and virtual forums. "Some platforms afford pseudonymity, while others encourage or require the use of real names, but people still negotiate these constraints" (Nagel, 4). Social networks like X, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok expect you to provide an identity when you sign up. While Facebook expects you to fit into the traditional notion of having a reasonable first name and last name (Facebook might even ask you to prove that your legal identity matches the name you provide it), other platforms allow you to select an identity that can be anything from a unique jumble of letters and numbers to a descriptive series of words to someone else's name.

Pseudonymity mirrors Bunburying in the 21st century; anyone is free to choose any identity they wish when they enter into a digital forum, and they can choose that identity in such a way as to avoid or engage with certain parts of society. One can keep their real-world identity, as Facebook encourages, or invent an entirely separate, new identity. Instead of going to the city to help your fake brother Ernest out of a bind, you simply step into the digital forum with a new name -- Nobody will ask where you're going, and nobody will ask where you came from. Better yet, the identity is disposable; where Jack had to reveal his deception to Algernon, who would recognize him about town regardless of who Jack claims to be, on the internet he could have just abandoned the identity of Ernest for a new one.

Jack and Algernon practice Bunburying as an expression of identity. "And as a high moral tone can hardly be said to conduce very much to either one's health or one's happiness, in order to get up to town I have always pretended to have a younger brother of the name of Ernest, who lives in the Albany, and gets into the most dreadful scrapes" (Wilde, first act). Jack is discontent with his proper Victorian lifestyle in the country, and uses the identity of Ernest to explore a more exciting nature in the city.

In the same way that Jack and Algernon are able to explore their identities through Bunburying, users of social media are able to explore their identities as well. "Pseudonymity is an affordance of a communication platform, as it is neither a feature nor an outcome of a technology, but part of the relationship between a platform and a person that enables or constrains potential outcomes" (Nagel, 4). The social media platform allows users to present any facet of themselves as they please; a user could even make several accounts to show several different facets of their personality. Because the account isn't explicitly attached to their real world identity, they don't have to be concerned about how that connection might affect one or the other. Additionally, since the cost of creating an account is typically not a financial one, the stakes are very low -- An account can be discarded, along with the identity associated with it, without significant consternation.

The Importance of Being Earnest satirizes Victorian hypocrisy; everything which would be considered "proper" by Victorian standards is called out as a tacit admission that it is hiding the true nature of the person adhering to them. This is even apparent in the title; the importance of being earnest could easily be rephrased as the importance of being true to oneself. "Algernon, in escaping the hypocrisy of convention, becomes a hypocrite himself by pretending to be somebody he is not" (Reinert, 4). Victorian standards are a stifling corset, designed to deprive the wearer of any semblance of reality for fear that admitting reality will cause it to fall apart; Wilde pokes fun at this idea, pointing out the absurdities that result from this position. Algernon is fully serious when he says "I really don't see anything romantic in proposing" (Wilde, first act); his belief is that everything leading up to a proposal is interesting because it allows for some minute expression of identity, while everything after has been strictly defined by Victorian standards. In this we can see the hypocrisy inherent in Victorian standards: There's a strict pattern to follow when one is in a committed relationship, but prior to that one is allowed much more freedom in their interactions with someone of romantic interest.

Social media users can easily choose what they present publicly, curating an image that precisely conveys how they wish to be seen. "Others discussed how they liked to express their opinions anonymously, how they liked to criticize others, and how they enjoyed the opportunity "to vent" on social media" (Whiting et al., 5). At the same time, however, it becomes easy to criticize other users for their failure to curate their own image. This exactly mirrors Victorian decency, where a certain etiquette is expected, and deviation is met with derision; in escaping that dynamic in real life, it gets brought along into the digital space. This highlights the importance of being earnest; the struggle to maintain the "perfect" appearance creates pressure on other members of society to perform the same way, whereas if all participants were to behave earnestly, the problem would vanish altogether.

Jack and Algernon use bunburying as a form of escapism; each of them, presented with an uncomfortable situation, takes advantage of their alternate identity -- a trouble-prone brother and an invalid friend -- to excuse themselves to a place far enough away that they need not concern themselves with the discomfort. They are literally running away from their problems. "If it wasn't for Bunbury's extraordinary bad health, for instance, I wouldn't be able to dine with you at Willis's to-night, for I have been really engaged to Aunt Augusta for more than a week" (Wilde, first act). Algernon uses Bunbury to escape the numerous social obligations he encounters in the city, fleeing to the country where he can pursue a more relaxed environment. Jack does the same, citing the obligations of taking care of Cecily as the primary motivator; both Jack and Algernon are engaged in avoiding the things expected of them in order to do something which they find more pleasurable.

Social media allows a similar form of escapism: At any time, anywhere, one can pick up their cell phone and tap in to social media while tuning out the real world. "The ten uses and gratifications found in this study are social interaction (88 percent), information seeking (80 percent), pass time (76 percent), entertainment (64 percent), relaxation (60 percent), communicatory utility (56 percent), expression of opinions (56 percent), convenience utility (52 percent), information sharing (40 percent), and surveillance and watching of others (20 percent)" (Whiting et al., 7). Users cite a variety of ways that they find value in participating in social media, providing a great deal of activity in a social setting that has only as much connection to their physical reality as they allow. It is, in many ways, more pleasurable than face to face socialization; not only does the platform incentivize it, but also the nature of it provides a safer, more approachable type of socialization as a result of the pseudonymous nature of online identities.

Jack and Algernon experience a number of problems while living their double lives. "As soon as you are kind enough to inform me why you are Ernest in town and Jack in the country" (Wilde, first act). Jack's problems are central to the play: First, Algernon catches him lying about being Ernest; later, when Jack tries to dispose of his Ernest identity, he's caught lying again, this time about Ernest's death. Wilde highlights the latter event, arranging the situation to elicit dramatic irony by telling the audience that Algernon has assumed the identity himself, before Jack can even construct the lie that Ernest is dead. "I don't think I could break it off now that I have actually met you. Besides, of course, there is the question of your name" (Wilde, second act). Algernon experiences his own complications, such as when Cecily confides in him, as he pretends to be Ernest to try and court her, that she wouldn't even consider someone whose name isn't Ernest. These events are not only humorous, but also a nod to the play's title: The Importance of Being Earnest. If they had simply acted in earnest from the outset, the problems they're experiencing wouldn't exist in the first place. This is Wilde's criticism of Victorian standards, and it's repeated throughout the play.

This issue of not behaving in earnest extends to pseudonymous activities on social media, as well. Users are under pressure from their peers to present a coherent identity, and that pressure can become a significant burden. "The second way social media causes depression anxiety is from the stress produced from constantly trying to project an unrealistic and unachievable perception of perfection within your social network" (Amedie, 9). The effect of social media on mental health is a heavily studied subject, particularly in relation to adolescents; while social media presents an easy venue to socialize in, the always-on nature of it has an unusual effect on our physiology. "Being constantly alert for new social media messages, to your instinctive fight or flight limbic system, is the same as being on continuous alert for predators, which causes a release of the stress hormone cortisol" (Amedie, 9). This sort of stress can have a profound effect on the user's life; by participating in a community where they can present whatever image they desire, the desire to perfect that image can easily become a stressor itself.

Bunburying is an attempt to resist the influence of Victorian standards; it also, unfortunately, reinforces those same standards. Jack and Algernon's identities both work within the system; Jack can attend to Ernest's problems because he's expected to take care of his brother, and Algernon can get away with caring for Bunbury because it's viewed as altruistic. They still, however, must deal with the fact that there are inconsistencies in their alternate identities; Jack discovers this at the outset of the play, when Algernon reveals he has found the cigarette case with his real name on it. This plunges him into stress as he tries to navigate Victorian etiquette while maintaining the sanctity of his fake identity.

Online, the situation is much the same: We escape the pressures of the real-world, but succumb to the standards of the platform, chasing metrics that are just as problematic as the judgment we sought to escape in the real world. We can craft an image that is to our liking, but if we spend too much time perfecting it, there's a real chance of inflicting more stress than we experience in the real world trying to conform to expectations. Likes, shares, and comments can disproportionately influence how we present ourselves online, pushing us to seek the same acceptance we thought we were avoiding. This is highly reflective of the situation in The Importance of Being Earnest: In seeking to avoid the pressure of stiff Victorian formality, Jack finds himself embroiled in a complicated web of social faux pas that is only resolved by Wilde's engineering of the play's premise to produce a positive outcome.

This is the consequence of pseudonymity: It can be a powerful tool that allows us to express ourselves, avoid discomfort, and escape from the darkness that can be found in everyday life, but it is just another social space which can bring it's own judgment, pain, and darkness. The criticism that Wilde levels at Victorian society is just as valid today as it was in 1895: Too stiff of constraints will lead people to try and escape reality, but those constraints will follow them to whatever new reality they inhabit. We've rediscovered the practice of Bunburying, and taken it to a new level: With an army of pseudonyms we are free to explore our identities, escape reality, and revel in an alternative social space. This brings with it all the same problems exhibited by Bunburying, but at a faster pace and with greater repercussions for our mental well-being.

Works Cited

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Amedie, Jacob. "The Impact of Social Media on Society." Scholar Commons, Santa Clara University, 3 Sept. 2015, scholarcommons.scu.edu/engl_176/2/.

Kapp, Luisa. "The Habits of Good Society": Victorian Manners and Etiquette Writing, 1834 --1890s. 2022.

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van der Nagel, Emily. "From Usernames to Profiles: The Development of Pseudonymity in Internet Communication." Internet Histories, vol. 1, no. 4, 27 Oct. 2017, pp. 312--331, https://doi.org/10.1080/24701475.2017.1389548.

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Wilde, Oscar. The Importance of Being Earnest. 1895. 14 Feb. 1895.