From time immemorial, human beings have questioned their identity in an attempt to better understand themselves. The evolution of society, accelerated by new technologies, makes the quest for self more perilous if left unchecked. Are we about to become virtual? What are the psychic effects of AI and digital content? What are the consequences of the ecological crisis? What troubles are linked to questions about gender? What is the impact of wars and the radicalization of political debate? In this essay, Thierry Delcourt takes these topical questions as a starting point to reveal the mechanisms that are causing our identity to suffer. He draws on clinical studies of the adolescents and young adults he works with on a daily basis. The question is not "was it better before", but "what do we do with the new social, political and economic situation?" To resist and preserve our identity, we need to learn to decipher and create in order to assert our free will and our existence.