Who are you? is an interactive installation created in Unreal Engine 5 that explores how visual social media platforms shape contemporary femininity through labels, aesthetics, and algorithmic visibility. Inspired by observations of Xiaohongshu, the project examines how repeated beauty standards and lifestyle categories influence the construction of digital identity.
The installation allows visitors to interact with a MetaHuman character by adding different platform-inspired labels, including Aesthetic Intimacy, Camera Compatibility, Optimized Self, and Professional Legibility. As the labels accumulate, the character gradually transforms, reflecting how online identities are shaped through repetition, performance, and social expectations.
The piece draws on feminist media theory (Mulvey, 1975; Butler, 1990), platform studies (van Dijck, 2013), and critical design methodology (Dunne & Raby, 2013) to make visible the invisible: the way platforms do not merely reflect identity, but actively script it. By turning the act of algorithmic categorisation into a bodily, affective experience, the installation shifts the critique from page to encounter — asking audiences not simply to observe, but to feel.
Fang Hao is a third-year BA Media student at University College London with an interest in digital media, social platform culture, and interactive visual storytelling. Her work combines moving image, game design, and interactive installation, focusing on how social media platforms influence identity and self-presentation among young people. She is currently developing her final-year project using Unreal Engine 5 and MetaHuman, exploring the relationship between platform algorithms and contemporary femininity.
