When the creation of self identity takes place outside of the influences of tradition, the process is problematized. The absence of traditional influences forces people to mold their self identity out of their personal experience or to turn to other cultural information sources (e.g., the mass media) for guidance. There is no tested basis of experience against which to assess the value of the result.

Consequently, modern life has become preoccupied with issues of self: who we are, what we believe uniquely, how we feel we should be regarded. As Richard Sennett puts it, "As the gods are demystified," (that is, as traditional sources of influence fade in importance) "man mystifies his own condition; his own life is fraught with meaning." Sennett here speaks of the terrible burden the modern world places on its members who must find a meaningful life and craft a meaningful self, without the benefit of tradition.

The detachment of the process of self creation from forces of tradition was influenced by many factors. Of particular importance among these are:

The secularization of society and the erosion of tradition

The emergence of a concept of personal privacy

Geographical mobility

Cultural diversification through immigration

The development of a market economy and the emergence of a mass culture

The rapid evolution of new technologies of communication

Urbanization

Rising egalitarianism