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The Performativity Grid

Off Brand Guy

A tool for mapping what makes an experience feel real, fake, or just… off.

A framework coined by the Reality Drift project. This grid helps explain why some moments feel genuine, while others feel subtly performative, flattened, or artificial—even when their intent appears good.

It divides modern experiences along two axes:

  • Human vs Algorithmic Origin
  • Authentic vs Performative Intent

By plotting experiences on this grid, you can spot what’s driving your “this doesn’t feel right” instinct. The further something lands from the top-left (Genuine), the more likely it is to trigger cognitive dissonance or emotional fatigue.

A four-quadrant grid titled “The Reality Check Framework,” showing how modern experiences fall across two axes: Human vs Algorithmic origin, and Authentic vs Performative intent. The top-left quadrant is “Genuine” (human + authentic), the top-right is “Synthetic Realness” (algorithmic + authentic), the bottom-left is “Performance” (human + performative), and the bottom-right is “Pure Simulation” (algorithmic + performative). Each quadrant includes example experiences like face-to-face conversation, AI-generated art, LinkedIn posts, and bot conversations.
The Performativity Grid – A diagnostic tool for mapping the authenticity and origin of modern experiences. The further from “Genuine” an experience lands, the more likely it is to feel emotionally flat or subtly off.

Read the full analysis:

🔗 Related terms: Synthetic Realness, Optimization Trap, Performativity Spiral, Engineered Authenticity, The Great Flattening, Commodification Creep, Inconvenience Inflation, Filter Fatigue, Reality Drift

🔗 Related frameworks: The Reality Drift Spectrum, The Great Flattening – System Diagram

Note: Offbrandguy did not create the Reality Drift concepts. This site serves as a curated archive to document and share these ideas for those exploring cultural change, emerging language, and the strange ways modern life is shifting.

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