We are all basically living in a funhouse, but nobody is laughing. Back in 2019, Jia Tolentino dropped Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion, a collection of nine essays that tried to make sense of why the modern world feels like a hallucination. It was an instant hit. But honestly? It’s even more unsettling to read now. The "trick mirror" she described hasn't shattered. It just got higher resolution.
Tolentino, a staff writer for The New Yorker, didn't just write a book of "hot takes." She wrote a autopsy of the millennial soul.
The "I" in the Internet is Shorter Than Ever
The book starts with "The I in the Internet," and if you haven’t read it, you’ve definitely lived it. Tolentino argues that the internet has warped our sense of self into a performance that never ends. There is no "backstage" anymore. In the old days (like, 2005), you could log off. Now? Your identity is a 24/7 asset for data brokers.
It’s weird.
We think we’re being authentic when we post a "vulnerable" video, but Tolentino points out that even our vulnerability is optimized for engagement. She writes about how the internet makes it easier to organize against things than for them. That’s why your feed feels like a constant war zone. You’re not just reading news; you’re being asked to calibrate your soul against every new scandal. It’s exhausting.
📖 Related: Coach Bag Animal Print: Why These Wild Patterns Actually Work as Neutrals
The internet has turned our narcissism into a business model. We aren't the customers; we're the product being refined in real-time.
Always Be Optimizing: The Scariest Chapter
If you’ve ever felt guilty for not going to the gym or felt like you needed to "hack" your morning routine to be more productive, this essay will haunt you. Tolentino looks at the rise of "athleisure" and boutique fitness—think Barre or SoulCycle—and compares them to a sort of secular religion.
She connects the dots between:
- The Lululemon leggings that make you look like you're always ready to work out.
- The Sweetgreen salad that you eat at your desk to save time.
- The skincare routine that costs $200 but promises to fix the stress caused by your job.
It’s a cycle. We work hard to afford the things that help us work harder. Tolentino calls it the "punitive dream of optimization." It’s the idea that everything, including our faces and bodies, should always be getting more efficient. But for what? To be a better worker? A more marketable "brand"? It’s a trick mirror because the better you get at it, the more you lose the actual "you" in the process.
👉 See also: Bed and Breakfast Wedding Venues: Why Smaller Might Actually Be Better
The Scammer as a Cultural Hero
One of the most famous sections is "The Story of a Generation in Seven Scams." She looks at things like the Fyre Festival, Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, and even the 2008 financial crisis.
Her point is simple: In a system that feels rigged, the scammer is just the person who got caught.
We live in a "grift or be grifted" economy. When the "official" path (college degree → stable job → home ownership) stops working, the shortcut looks pretty tempting. Tolentino argues that the American ethos has shifted. We no longer value the "honest day's work" as much as we value the "big score." It’s why we’re obsessed with influencers who seem to get rich doing nothing. We’re all just waiting for our own scam to pay off.
Why It Matters in 2026
You might think a book from 2019 is outdated. It’s not. If anything, the rise of AI and the "dead internet theory" makes Tolentino's work feel like a prophecy. We are increasingly interacting with versions of people that don't exist. We are polishing our digital reflections while our real lives get more complicated.
✨ Don't miss: Virgo Love Horoscope for Today and Tomorrow: Why You Need to Stop Fixing People
The book doesn't give you a "5-step plan" to fix your life. Honestly, Tolentino admits she’s just as stuck in the mirror as we are. She goes to the Barre classes. She uses the apps. She’s complicit.
That’s what makes the writing human. It’s not a lecture from a mountain top; it’s a conversation from the trenches.
What to Do With This Information
If you're feeling the "digital rot," reading Trick Mirror won't cure you, but it will help you name the feeling. Understanding the architecture of the trap is the first step to finding the exit.
- Stop optimizing for a week. Try doing something that is "useless" for your career or your health. Play a game you're bad at. Walk without a fitness tracker.
- Audit your "outrage." Next time you see something online that makes you want to post a 10-part thread, ask yourself: Is this an opinion, or is this a performance of my identity?
- Read the essay "Ecstasy." It’s a wild ride through Tolentino's childhood in a Texas megachurch and her experiences with MDMA. It’s the best example of how she mixes high-brow theory with very raw, personal storytelling.
The mirror is still there. It’s still distorting everything. But once you know it’s a trick, it loses a little bit of its power over you.
Pick up a physical copy of the book. Read it in a park where there's no Wi-Fi. It’s the closest thing to "breaking the glass" that we’ve got right now.