Do YOU have identity capital? Pressure on Gen Z to be ‘interesting person’, according to TikTokers

Forget a top education or work experience – what you really need for a successful career is good “identity capital,” according to some Gen Z and millennials on TikTok.

The phrase has recently blown up on the social media platform, with users from all over the world explaining how those seeking success in life should abandon traditional methods and instead opt for greater self-care.

Under the hashtag #identitycapitaly, which has 191.4K views, some suggest that traveling, reading books, cooking and other hobbies or life experiences are key to creating a “brand” in your twenties that will triumph later in life to lead.

“Be an interesting asshole,” Dellara Gorjian, a California-based attorney, insists in a clamp that has since racked up 620.1K views. “You guys need to stop obsessing over choosing the right college major and GPA and start obsessing over your identity capital.

‘Because trust me, your identity and your career are not based on your GPA or your major. More often than not, it’s built on your identity capital,” she says.

Another TikTok user, journalist Jareen Imam, claims, ‘When you’re in your twenties, you have to do something that no one talks about. Your twenties are one of the most important times to build identity capital.

Everyone talks about building financial capital, but identity capital is an incredibly important thing to do, especially when you’re young.

‘Identity capital is actually the things you do and experience that make you, you. For example, the education you receive, the hobbies you pick up. Those things add interest to who you are.

“It’s important to do three fascinating things that you’re proud of and that you can share with your friends, your family, talk about at dinner parties, because those experiences are going to add to your life story.”

British life coach Pete Cohen also posted on his TikTok about identity capital, saying, ‘Don’t you think it’s about time you developed some identity capital?

What is Identity Capital? Identity capital is identifying where you want to go and acknowledging every day that it’s the little things done over time that create greatness.”

The term identity capital was coined by Meg Jay, a clinical psychologist, in her 2012 book, The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter—And How to Make the Most of Them Now.

“I think of identity capital as anything you do that adds value to who you are,” Jay said Insider. “It’s how we spend our time and invest in ourselves, not just as professionals but as people.”

While some young professionals on TikTok certainly seem taken with the phrase, experts have warned against focusing too much on the idea.

So said psychologist Zoe Mallet Refinery29: ‘The idea that creating goals and practices will get you to the things you want faster and more efficiently means that we often focus on the result.

“We must be present so that life does not pass so quickly. It’s easy to see why setting goals is appealing, but sometimes those goals lack purpose, are a version of someone else’s life you love, and are often unsustainable.”

The coach said self-optimization can become addictive, adding: ‘It can become dangerous because we can tunnel our vision towards those specific goals and that means other areas of our lives that we also need to keep us sane can fall away. ‘

British sociologist Rosalind Gill told the publication that through her research with people between their late teens and late twenties, she was “affected” by the pressure they felt to share the “perfect” version of themselves online.

She explained that this meant being “happy, positive, versatile and with the right knowledge.”

Beverly Joseph, 21, told Insider, “I think we find it way too easy to market ourselves.

“Influencers make it look like a super cool, fun thing that will make your life easier, rather than something that will take a huge toll on your personality.”