The Ontological Insecurity of Disconnecting: A Theory of Echolocation and the Self

Echolocation is a compelling metaphor for thinking about how anyone in a digitally saturated society is in constant orientation and reorientation in rela- tion to others, continually building a sense of Self by moving in and through various social worlds as a part of everyday life. This navigational model of echolocating the self is mostly invisible. It is not until a person feels a sud- den feeling akin to what has been called ‘ontological insecurity’ that they can recognize the degree to which their sense of stability or ontological security was reliant on a continuous stream of interactions with other elements in their ecosystem. This focus highlights how a person’s being in the world, in a phenomenological sense, relies on getting a response to one’s performance of self in everyday life.