By definition, mimetic desire means that we're adopting another person's desire as our own, usually without even realizing that we're doing it. Social media has given us millions of mimetic models that we now have to contend with. Some people have gone from having 10 mimetic models to now having thousands, and we haven't quite come to grips as a culture with what that means for our mental and emotional health.

All desire comes from us feeling like we lack something, which can bring us into a dangerous, vicious habit because there will always be another model to find. We have to choose our models wisely whether they are famous influencers across the globe or our closest friends. We also have to know when the model is inflaming us with the desire for something that's going to bring real fulfillment or whether it's going to bring a dopamine hit or allow us to fantasize about a life that we'll probably never have.

All desires are modeled for us 24 hours a day, billions of them, and we need to understand the mimetic landscape of social media, or else we'll become completely controlled by it.