When Speculative Ideas Run Into Empirical Realities: Commentary on Adler’s (2026) “Identity Play”

Adler (2026) proposed “play” as a new metaphor for identity, one that meets the demands of contemporary digital life. In this commentary, I argue that Adler’s proposal does not hold up to scrutiny, and although interesting and insightful, it is unlikely to be productive for advancing our knowledge of identity development. I do so by examining a) his premise about the impact of technological changes on identity and b) the metatheoretical implications of his proposed metaphor of play, finding that both come up short of what is needed for a productive approach to understanding identity.