WE SHOULDN'T be surprised. Our media and advertisements are full of messages proclaiming the importance of Me. Indeed, variations of the theme "Express Yourself" and "Believe in Yourself" dominate contemporary advertising, literature, and academic curricula. In her book aptly called Generation Me, U.S. psychologist and social commentator Dr. Jean Twenge says the emphasis popular culture puts on self-esteem has encouraged a generation to be anything they want to be. More often than not this means being famous. (Twenge was talking about U.S. society, of course, but then we are living in an increasingly borderless world.)

True enough, talk shows and reality-based competitions are inundated by people who say they're only following their dreams. With the centrality of the Me in everyday life, it's only to be expected that kids would feel entitled to celebrity.

Expect, too, for talk shows and reality TV to get wilder, raunchier, and louder. The more people want to be noticed, the more they would be willing to go to the extreme to attract attention. Those who refuse to eat cockroaches or tell all in front of a national audience can always go online and find an audience with less voyeuristic tastes. (Although there's also that segment of the cyber audience that has steelier stomachs than ordinary TV viewers.)

The McCann survey reveals millions of young Filipinos are stamping their identities online, a phenomenon the agency calls the Virtual Self. "Thanks to virtual connectivity technology like text messaging and the Internet, more of their lives are being lived out virtually," says McCann Philippines Managing Director Nandy Villar.

At the same time, many are finding cyberspace as the surefire way to stardom. Curiously though, sometimes cybercelebrities remain anonymous, at least by "normal" standards. While both the televised and the virtual self can be manufactured to appeal to a desired audience, virtual personalities can be multiplied into a variety of identities. Unlike television, identity on the Internet need not be as transparent, thus allowing kids to pursue personalities as wild as their imaginations permit. The network-gaming subculture is particularly famous for this. Real names are hardly used and gamers are identified by their avatars or online characters.

Still, despite the fictional identities, fame and prestige are equally important to gamers. In the network game of World of Warcraft, for example, avatars who rank among the highest are treated like superstars. In the virtual world, you don't have to be recognized in the streets to be a celebrity. Your parents don't even have to know.

You don't need to be a philosopher or sci-fi writer to realize where all this is going. When the basic human need for validation is unleashed by technology and new spaces for exhibition and performance, the self as we know it will never be the same. Life becomes one long series of shows where the size and location of the audience varies from one narrative to the next. You can create and recreate your life movie anyway you want, just as many do in the popular computer role-playing game The Sims. The lack of wealth, talent, beauty, or personality is no longer a valid excuse for obscurity — only the lack of imagination and a basic skill in self-promotion is.

David Celdran is a television commentator and freelance writer who specializes in media, technology and popular culture.